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The  Fall  of 
Santiao 


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y  Thos.  J.Vivian 

Author  of 

With  Dewey  at  Manila 


THE    FALL   OF   SANTIAGO 


THE 
FALL  OF   SANTIAGO 


BY 


THOMAS   J.  VIVIAN 

Author  of  "  With  Dewey  at  Manila." 


R.  F.  FENNO  &  COMPANY   :   9  AND  n  E. 
SIXTEENTH   STREET     :      :     NEW  YORK 

1898 


. 


Copyright,  1898 

BY 
R.  F.  FENNO  &  COMPANY 


The  Fall  of  Santiago 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGE 

How  Schley  Chased  Cervera's  Fleet 5 

CHAPTER  II. 
How  Hobson  Sank  the  Merrimac 25 

CHAPTER  III. 
How  the  Marines  Fought  at  Guantanamo 51 

CHAPTER  IV. 
How  Shafter  Landed  His  Army  at  Daiquiri 72 

CHAPTER  V. 
How  the  Rough  Riders  Fought  at  La  Guasima 95 

CHAPTER  VI. 
How  the  Army  Marched  to  the  Front 112 

CHAPTER  VII. 

How  El  Caney  Was  Carried 132 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
How  San  Juan  Was  Stormed  and  Taken 155 

CHAPTER  IX. 
How  Schley  Destroyed  Cervera's  Fleet 190 

CHAPTER  X. 
How  Toral  Surrendered  More  than  was  Asked  for. . . .  227 


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Copyright  by  R.  F.  Fcnno  &  Co.  Map  showing   the  scene  of  t 

The  roads  leading  from   Daiquiri  and  Siboney  have  been  heavily  lined,  nc 


Military  operations  around   Santiago. 

indicate  their  importance  as  ways  of  travel,  but,  lor  the  purpose  of  identification. 


THE  FALL  OF  SANTIAGO. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW    SCHLEY    CHASED    CERVERA*S    FLEET. 

AT  the  time  that  the  great  sea  hunt  for 
Admiral  Cervera's  elusive  fleet  began,  the  condi 
tion  of  things  specifically  hinging  on  it  was 
just  this: 

There  were  three  positive  and  five  possible 
parties  in  the  hunt.  The  positive  parties  were 
Schley's  Flying  Squadron,  then  a  resting  one  at 
Hampton  Eoads;  Sampson's  Blockading  Fleet, 
off  Havana;  and  Admiral  Cervera's  Cape  Yerde 
Squadron,  so  called  because  at  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities  the  Spanish  ships  constituting  that 
squadron  were  at  the  Cape  Verde  Islands.  The 
possibilities  were  Admiral  Camara's  fleet  at 
Cadiz  and  Admiral  Villamirs  squadron,  concern 
ing  whose  exact  location  there  existed  much 
doubt.  Ever  since  the  25th  of  April,  the  date  of 
the  declaration  of  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Spain,  it  was  a  self-evident  strategical  propo 
sition  that  no  definite  campaign  in  the  West 


6  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Indies  could  be  laid  out  and  carried  through 
until  an  accounting  had  been  made  with  the 
Spanish  fleet  or  fleets. 

In  general:  The  blockade  of  Havana  was  estab 
lished;  the  presidential  policy  was  esteemed 
from  the  outside  to  be  one  of  pacific  waiting; 
Admiral  Dewey  had  destroyed  the  Spanish  fleet 
at  Manila;  and  Spain  was  threatening  to  send  a 
heavy  sea  force  against  him  in  the  hope  of  re 
gaining  her  power  in  the  Orient.  Troops  were 
gathering  from  every  part  of  the  United  States 
toward  the  fields  of  Chickamauga  and  the  blazing 
sand  spits  and  coral  keys  of  Florida;  the  different 
States  had  been  called  on  to  send  their  quota  of 
volunteers  to  the  front;  and  the  government 
agents  were  busy  all  over  the  world  buying  war 
ships  and  craft  convertible  into  cruisers. 

Such  was  the  naval  and  military  status  when 
late  on  the  night  of  May  12  Commodore  Schley 
walked  into  his  cabin  on  the  Brooklyn  with  an 
unopened  dispatch  in  his  hands,  which  dispatch 
had  just  been  brought  out  from  Fortress  Monroe. 
An  hour  after,  it  being  then  exactly  one  A.M., 
May  13,  a  string  of  colored  lights  was  displayed 
from  the  flagship,  "Be  ready  to  put  to  sea  at 
daybreak."  Evidently  there  were  many  wake 
ful  eyes  on  the  fleet,  and  no  sooner  had  the  com 
modore's  signal  gone  up  than  a  whole  colony  of 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  7 

drug  stores  seemed  to  spring  into  being  as  the 
colored  lights  were  run  up  all  around  with  the 
answer  "Signal  understood.  "We  will  beready." 

There  was  no  more  sleep  that  night  on  board 
the  fleet,  and  although  they  did  not  sail  at  day 
break,  the  executive  officers  made  the  effort  of 
their  lives  to  do  so.  The  laggards  in  this  case 
were  the  converted  cruiser  St.  Paul  and  the 
cruiser  New  Orleans  which  were  coaling  at  New 
port  News.  The  squadron  waited,  to  the  visible 
heat  and  audible  impatience  of  the  commodore, 
until  half-past  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  then, 
accompanied  by  a  big  collier,  the  Brooklyn, 
Massachusetts,  Texas,  Minneapolis  and  Scorpion 
sailed,  leaving  instructions  for  the  St.  Paul  and 
New  Orleans  to  follow  as  quickly  as  they  could. 

Save  for  the  delay  there  was  jollity  all  over  the 
fleet,  for  though  the  men  were  not  sure  what 
they  were  going  to  do,  they  were  certain  that 
they  were  going  to  do  something,  and  that  they 
had  two  hundred  guns  of  the  most  modern  type, 
eighteen  hundred  officers  and  men,  and  seven 
good  vessels  to  do  it  with. 

Next  day,  that  is  May  14,  the  squadron  was  off 
Charleston  and  there  it  was  found  that  the  sealed 
orders  under  which  sail  was  made  from  Hamp 
ton  Koads,  read  only  to  put  to  sea  at  once  and 
proceed  to  Charleston,  there  to  receive  further 


8  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

orders.  It  may  be  said  here,  and  "with  much 
appropriateness,  that  rarely  for  an  instant  was 
there  any  evidence  of  indecision  on  the  part  of 
those  in  control  of  the  Santiago  campaign  and 
that  with  few  exceptions  tbe  plans  that  were  made 
were  clear,  were  expressed  to  those  who  had  to 
discharge  them  with  equal  clearness,  and  carried 
out  as  undeviatingly  as  the  changing  circum 
stances  of  war  would  permit  by  those  in  com 
mand  of  the  operations  on  land  and  sea.  At 
Charleston  the  new  orders  were  to  proceed  to 
Havana  with  all  expedition  there  to  join  forces 
with  Admiral  Sampson,  under  whose  command 
two  fast  fleets  would  be  made  up  for  the  Cervera 
hunt. 

But  while  the  plans  of  the  hunters  were  known 
with  some  kind  of  deh'niteuess  those  of  tho 
quarry  were  decidedly  nebulous.  The  Dons 
were  rich  in  what  may  be  called  the  feint  and 
ambuscade  of  news.  The  Cape  Verde  Fleet  had 
sailed.  It  had  not  sailed.  It  was  at  the 
Canaries.  It  was  at  Cadiz.  These  were  some  of 
the  sample  reports.  Of  course,  at  Washington 
data  of  a  somewhat  more  definite  character  had 
been  gathered  by  trusted  agents,  but  so  wib*  and 
uncertain,  so  full  of  dodges,  turns,  back-tracking 
and  unexpected  dashes  was  Cervera  at  the  last 
that  not  the  combined  intelligence  of  the  Secret 


Admiral  Cevera. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  9 

Service  branches  of  the  War  and  Navy  Depart 
ments  and  the  untiring  and  omnipresent  news 
paper  men  could  always  tell  where  Spain's  great 
est  of  naval  dodgers  really  was. 

The  facts  that  were  patent  were  these.  "When 
the  war  broke  out  Cervera,  as  has  been  said,  was 
at  St.  Vincent  in  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands. 
Now  these  islands  belong  to  Portugal  and  it  was 
intimated  to  Portugal  by  our  State  Department 
that  the  presence  of  Cervera's  fleet,  coupled  with 
the  ostentatious  announcement  that  Spain  in 
tended  to  gather  at  St.  Vincent  one  of  those 
formidable  armadas  which  have  ever  been  her 
pet  embodiment  of  naval  power,  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  nation  with  which  we  were  at 
war  was  using  the  territory  of  a  nation  with 
which  we  were  at  peace  as  a  base  of  offensive 
operations  and  we  would  like  to  know  just  what 
Portugal's  position  in  the  matter  was.  In 
answer  to  this  demand  Portugal's  prime  minister 
cabled  to  the  State  Department  at  Washington, 
April  26,  that  the  Spanish  flotilla  would  be  given 
forty-eight  hours  in  which  to  leave  St.  Vincent. 

When  the  forty-eight  hours  were  up,  however, 
the  Spanish  flotilla  was  still  at  St.  Vincent. 
Then,  on  April  28,  Portugal,  in  response  to 
another  quiet  but  still  more  emphatic  interroga 
tory  from  Washington  as  to  her  position,  did 


10  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

declare  her  neutrality,  and  Cervera,  having  in 
this  friendly  leisure  mobilized  his  fleet  and 
thoroughly  provisioned  and  coaled  it,  soon  after 
steamed  away  with  his  black-painted  warships. 
But  with  the  certainty  of  Cervera 's  departure 
ended  the  certainty  of  his  whereabouts,  and  it 
•was  from  the  latter  date  that  the  Cervera  hunt 
may  be  said  to  properly  begin. 

Would  he  sail  back  to  Cadiz  to  join  forces  with 
Camara?  Would  he  sail  to  the  Canaries,  there 
to  wait  until  reinforced  by  Admiral  Villamil  with 
his  undefined  fleet?  Was  he  planning  to  inter 
cept  the  battleship  Oregon  on  her  great  trip 
around  Cape  Horn  and  crush  her  by  force  of 
numbers?  Would  he  make  a  dash  for  the  North 
Atlantic  ports;  reduce  the  summer  cottages  of 
Newport  to  ruins;  loot  the  Boston  banks  of  their 
millions;  or,  dashing  down  Long  Island  Sound, 
lay  Brooklyn  waste  and  raze  New  York's  sky 
scrapers  to  the  ground?  Was  Newport  News, 
with  its  yards  and  government  supplies  to  be 
captured?  Was  Charleston  in  danger  or  Key 
West  to  be  bombarded?  Did  the  Spanish 
admiral  contemplate  a  flight  across  the  Atlantic 
to  Porto  Rico  with  a  view  of  using  that  port  as  a 
strong  base  for  menace  and  attack?  Would  he 
push  on  through  the  Carribean  Sea  and  get  into 
the  shelter  of  Cienfuegos,  with  its  railroad  to 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  11 

Havana,  and  so  bring  new  heart  and  supplies  to 
Governor-General  Blanco;  or  would  he  make  one 
wild  cut  at  the  blockading  squadron  and  try  to 
get  into  Havana  itself?  All  of  these  proposi 
tions  had  to  be  considered  and  though  some  were 
wild,  none  could  be  dismissed  as  impossible. 

It  may  be  asked  why  Cervera's  fleet  was  con 
sidered  such  an  important  factor;  why  the  pro 
gramme  of  the  United  States  depended  so  much 
on  the  disposal  of  the  Cape  Yerde  flotilla  and 
why  the  plan  was  not  adopted  to  quietly  wait 
until  Cervera's  fleet  materialized  and  then  meet 
and  smash  it.  The  answer  is  a  plain  one. 
When  Cervera  left  St.  Vincent  his  fleet  consisted 
of  four  first-class  cruisers — the  Vizcaya,  the 
Almirante  Oquendo,  the  Cristobal  Colon  and  the 
Infanta  Maria  Teresa;  and  three  torpedo  boat 
destroyers,  the  Furor,  the  Terror,  and  the 
Pluton.  Not  such  a  formidable  fleet,  one  might 
imagine,  considering  the  fact  that  Schley's  flying 
squadron  included  the  Massachusetts,  Texas, 
Brooklyn,  New  Orleans,  and  Minneapolis;  that 
Sampson  from  his  blockaders  could  make  up  a 
fighting  fleet  consisting  of  the  Iowa,  Indiana, 
New  York,  Amphitrite,  Terror,  Detroit,  Mont 
gomery,  and  Marblehead;  and  that  if  he  had 
luck,  Captain  Clark  could  join  these  with  the 
Oregon,  Marietta  and  Nictheroy.  The  potent 


12  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

fact  about  Cervera's  fleet,  however,  was  its 
homogeneity.  It  was  all  alike.  In  a  collection 
of  fighting  vessels,  as  in  a  collection  of  fighting 
men,  its  unit  of  capability  is  its  weak  spot. 
When  moving  into  action  or  retiring  from  one, 
the  fastest  cruiser  can  only  sail  at  the  speed  of 
the  slowest — that  is,  if  there  is  to  be  any  concert 
of  attack  or  retreat.  The  four  cruisers  of  Cer- 
vera  were  not  only  all  alike  in  speed,  they  were 
all  alike  in  strength,  in  the  disposition,  art  of 
training  and  power  of  their  batteries.  The  ton 
nage  of  the  Cristobal  Colon  was  6,840  while  that 
of  the  other  three  cruisers  was  exactly  6,890  for 
each  vessel.  The  Colon's  batteries  could  throw 
in  one  ton  of  metal  at  each  volley,  while  the 
volley  of  the  other  three  was  one  and  a  quarter 
tons  each.  The  speed  of  each  ship  was  twenty 
knots. 

It  follows,  then,  that  the  four  cruisers  might 
practically  be  considered  as  one  enormous 
fighting  machine,  with  equal  power  to  strike, 
speed  to  run,  strength  to  resist  and  which,  if 
properly  handled,  would  really  be  one  of  the  most 
formidable  things  afloat.  It  must  not  be  inferred 
from  all  this  that  there  would  be  any  hesitation 
on  the  part  of  our  fleet  commanders  to  engage 
Cervera  as  soon  as  found,  but  it  must  be  under 
stood  that  Cervera  afloat  and  unsmashed  was  a 
menace  of  formidable  proportions. 


Com.  Winfield  Scott  Schley. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  13 

Instructions  Laving  been  received  to  proceed 
to  Key  West,  to  Key  West  Schley's  squadron 
sailed.  That  scorched  end  of  the  United  States 
was  reached  on  May  18  and  next  day  the  com 
modore  was  joined  by  Admiral  Sampson  and  his 
fleet.  Sampson  had  been  off  on  an  errand  of  his 
own  and  though  it  had  been  moderately  success 
ful  in  one  way,  it  had  been  a  failure  in  another 
and  he  was  not  in  the  most  cheerful  of  moods 
when  Schley  went  to  visit  him.  His  double  pur 
pose  when  he  drew  away  from  the  blockading  fleet 
outside  Havana  had  been  to  chase  down  Cervera, 
and  failing  that,  to  put  Porto  Rico  into  such  an 
undefendable  condition  that  the  Spanish  admiral 
might  not  be  able  to  use  it  as  a  harbor  of  refuge. 
He  did  not  engage  the  Spaniard  and  so  on  May 
9  reported  to  Washington  an  inability  to  find 
any  trace  of  Spain's  master  in  the  art  of  hiding, 
and  announced  his  intention  to  bombard  Porto 
Eico.  That  intention  he  carried  into  partial 
effect  on  the  12th  of  May,  but  of  what  was  done 
on  that  date  and  in  that  action  it  would-be 
too  wide  a  parenthesis  to  speak  here. 

After  thoroughly  canvassing  the  situation  and 
as  a  result  of  the  combined  capital  of  information 
possessed  by  the  admiral  and  commodore  and 
furnished  them  from  Washington,  it  was  decided 
that  instead  of  combining  the  fleets  for  a  further 


14:  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

sea  hunt  the  vessels  under  command  of  Sampson 
and  Schley  should  be  divided  and  two  lines  of  pur 
suit  followed.  Sampson  held  that  he  had  given 
Porto  Rico  such  a  shaking  up  that  it  was  in  no 
condition  to  afford  anything  except  the  shakiest 
kind  of  support  to  Cervera;  that  the  Spanish 
admiral  would  not  think  of  remaining  there 
when  once  he  discovered  its  condition;  and  that 
so  much,  therefore,  in  the  twistiugs  and  dou 
blings  of  the  pursued  fleet  might  be  eliminated. 
There  remained  then,  the  dash  on  the  Atlantic 
ports,  the  endeavor  to  force  the  blockade  of 
Havana,  the  push  ahead  for  a  port  on  the 
southern  coast  of  Cuba  or  the  double  and  return 
flight  to  Cadiz.  As  to  the  ports  on  the  southern 
coast  of  Cuba  there  were  only  two  which  were 
thought  necessary  of  consideration — those  of 
Cienfuegos  and  Santiago.  Of  these  the  balance 
of  opinion  was  that  everything  was  in  favor  of 
Cervera's  selection  lighting  upon  Cienfuegos. 
It  lies  right  across  from  Havana  on  the  southern 
coast,  has  an  excellent  harbor,  and,  as  has  been 
intimated,  is  within  easy  railroad  connection 
with  the  Cuban  capital.  Then,  too,  it  was  one 
of  the  places  on  which  a  blockade  had  been  set, 
so  that  if  the  Spanish  Admiral  contemplated  any 
scheme  of  relief  Cienfuegos  was  the  best  place 
for  its  application.  The  fortifications  of  Cien- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  15 

fuegos  were  not  as  formidable,  it  is  true,  as  they 
had  been  prior  to  May  14,  -when  Commander 
McCalla,  with  the  cruisers  Marblehead  and  Nash 
ville  and  the  converted  cruiser  "Windom,  sent 
one  of  the  big  guns  there  sprawling,  rent  the 
forts  at  the  harbor's  entrance  with  four  and 
six-inch  shells,  and  left  things  generalbr  demoral 
ized  after  a  three  hours'  administration  of  iron 
and  steel  correctives.  McCalla's  object  had  been 
to  cut  the  cable  between  Cienfuegos  and  Man- 
zanillo  and  the  ripping  bombardment,  which 
lasted  from  six  to  nine  A.M.  was  inflicted  because 
the  Spanish  forts  had  fired  on  the  American 
boats  while  they  were  engaged  in  this  enterprise. 
Still,  Cienfuegos  ranked  as  a  fortified  and  very 
enticing  haven  for  Cervera,  and  it  was  decided 
that  leaving  Commodore  AVatson  to  continue  the 
blockade  of  Havana  with  his  "mosquito  fleet," 
Schley  should  sail  around  the  western  end  of 
Cuba  to  that  port,  while  Sampson  was  to  sail 
eastward  down  to  the  "Windward  Passage,  so  as 
to  intercept  Cervera  should  he  try  to  make  for 
Havana  and  at  the  same  time  to  trap  him  should 
he  have  visited  Porto  Rico  and  found  it  unten 
able. 

Commodore  Schley  sailed  from  Key  "West  on 
May  19,  taking  with  him  the  Brooklyn,  Texas, 
Massachusetts,  and  Scorpion.  These  reached 


16  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Cienfuegos  Sunday,  May  22,  and  were  there 
joined  by  the  Iowa,  the  cruiser  Marblehead,  the 
torpedo  boat  Dupont,  the  gunboats  Castine  and 
Eagle,  and  the  collier  Merrimac,  the  latter  craft, 
which  was  destined  to  become  historical,  having 
arrived  at  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  May 
23  under  the  convoy  of  the  Castine.  When 
Cienfuegos  was  reached  it  was  seen  that  much 
work  of  reparation  had  been  done  on  the  forti 
fications  at  the  harbor  mouth,  so  much  indeed 
that  even  after  the  peppering  which  McCalla  had 
administered  it  would  have  been  no  easy  task  to 
force  a  way  past  the  batteries  at  Punta  Colorado 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  much  more  important 
fortification  at  the  castle  of  Xagua  on  the  other. 
Many  contradictory  reports  were  brought  the 
commodore  by  Cuban  scouts  as  to  the  presence 
of  Cervera  in  Cienfuegos,  the  general  trend  of 
these  reports,  however,  being  that  the  Spanish 
admiral  had  arrived  and  was  safely  ensconced 
behind  these  fortifications.  Schley  was  much 
inclined  to  the  opinion  that  he  had  run  down 
the  Spanish  admiral  and  had  indeed  prepared  a 
report  to  that  effect  when  the  little  gunboat 
Hawk,  a  converted  yacht,  brought  such  definite 
news  of  Cervera  being  really  at  Santiago,  that  he 
had  to  accept  it  as  authoritative.  He  would 
have  started  for  Santiago  there  and  then,  but  the 


Castle   of  El  Morro,  the  eastern   guardian   of  the  sea  gateway   to   Santiago. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  17 

question  of  coaling — the  pivotal  question  in 
naval  proceedings  nowadays — delayed  him  until 
Tuesday. 

With  Schley  at  Cienfuegos  preparing  to  run 
down  to  Santiago  to  establish  the  accuracy  of  the 
Hawk's  report;  with  Sampson  cruising  along  the 
northern  coast  of  Cuba  and  watching  the  Win- 
ward  Passage,  with  the  Yale  and  St.  Louis, 
auxiliary  cruisers,  scouting  and  watching  for  Cer- 
vera  at  the  Mona  and  Virgin  Passages,  and  with 
half  a  dozen  other  scouts  steaming  here  and  there 
over  the  Atlantic  and  West  Indian  seas,  it  will 
be  appropriate  here  to  show  how  Cervera  eluded 
his  pursuers.  And  as  it  happened,  it  was  by  one 
of  the  strange  fortunes  of  war  that  the  exact 
story  came  to  light  through  the  capture  of  the 
flagship's  log-book,  as  the  Cristobal  Colon  lay  a 
battered  and  stranded  hulk  off  Santiago's  rocky 
shore. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Portugal  informed 
our  government  that  Cervera  had  been  instructed 
to  vacate  his  anchorage  on  April  26  with  a  forty- 
eight  hours  time  of  grace,  he  having  arrived  there 
on  the  14th.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Cervera  left 
St.  Yincent,  April  30,  the  Colon  towing  the 
Furor,  the  Oquendo  the  Pluton,  and  the  Teresa 
the  Terror.  When  Cervera  left  he  steamed  west 
ward.  The  next  report  was  from  Spain,  that 


18  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Cervera  had  returned  home  and  that  on  May 
11  he  was  safe  at  Cadiz,  waiting  to  be  re 
inforced  by  Admiral  Camara's  ships.  Here 
again  the  truth  is  that  on  that  very  day  he  was 
within  twenty-four  hour's  easy  steam  of  Port  de 
France,  Martinique.  Waiting  at  Port  de  France 
only  for  dispatches,  he  pushed  on  southwest- 
ward,  and  on  Saturday,  May  14,  reached  Wil- 
leinstad,  the  port  of  the  Dutch  island  of  Curacao. 
He  entered  the  harbor  with  the  Teresa  and  Viz- 
caya,  leaving  the  Oquendo  and  Colon,  with  the 
three  torpedo  boat  destroyers  on  the  outside. 
The  selection  of  Willemstad  as  a  port  of  call, 
while  at  first  blush  it  may  seem  to  have  been  an 
out-of-the-way  locality,  was  really  an  excellent 
one.  The  French  cable  for  Caracas,  Venezuela, 
touches  at  Curacao,  so  that  he  was  able  to  com 
municate  with  home  over  a  friendly  line  and  at 
the  same  time  be  posted  as  to  the  condition  of 
things  in  Cuba. 

It  doubtless  had  been  Cervera's  original  plan 
to  steam  swiftly  over  the  four  hundred  and 
seventy-five  miles  lying  between  Curacao  and 
Porto  Rico,  and  establish  there  a  base  of  supplies 
and  attack,  but  at  the  Dutch  settlement  he 
learned  of  Sampson's  attentions  to  Porto  Rico, 
and  so  having  given  out  the  intimation  that  he 
intended  under  the  new  condition  of  things,  to 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  19 

keep  in  the  friendly  shelter  of  the  South  Ameri 
can  shores,  sent  the  Terror  on  a  scouting  trip  to 
Porto  Rico,  steamed  away  westward,  then  re 
traced  his  way,  put  on  all  steam  and  crowded 
for  Santiago,  which  he  reached  on  the  morning 
of  May  19. 

The  prosaic  but  essential  work  of  coaling  hav 
ing  been  completed,  Schley  shipped  anchor  off 
Cienfuegos  and  steamed  eastward.  He  was  off 
Santiago  on  May  28,  but  neither  from  his  guns 
nor  from  the  shore  batteries  was  a  single  shot 
fired  to  emphasize  the  fact  of  his  arrival. 

It  will  not  be  going  ahead  of  the  proper 
sequence  of  fact  and  description  to  say  here  that 
the  presence  of  Cervera's  fleet  in  the  harbor  of 
Santiago,  as  something  that  could  be  sworn  to 
from  evidence  of  sight  was  an  extremely  difficult 
matter  of  demonstration.  Like  all  of  the  harbors 
along  the  Cuban  coast,  that  of  Santiago  is  bottle- 
shaped,  with  the  neck  as  the  entrance.  But  in 
the  case  of  Santiago  there  is  not  only  a  neck,  but 
a  long  and  curved  one.  Moreover  the  shore 
sides  of  the  neck  entrance  are  so  high  and  pre 
cipitous  that  from  the  sea  it  is  impossible  to  look 
into  the  harbor  beyond  that  part  which  lies  close 
to  the  inner  end  of  the  neck.  How  to  satisfy 
himself  that  Cervera  was  at  Santiago  without 
sailing  into  the  harbor  presented  itself,  there- 


£0  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

fore,  as  the  problem  which  Schley  would  have  to 
solve.  To  risk  a  sharp  dash  into  the  harbor  with 
all  its  certain  dangers  and  its  uncertainties,  its 
tortuous  channel,  mines  and  commanding  forti 
fications,  with  the  chance  of  not  finding  the 
quarry  in  the  presumptive  hiding-place,  was 
something  about  which  even  Schley  hestitated. 
There  remained  then  strategy,  and  that  strategy 
the  commodore  employed. 

Schley  knew  as  well  as  though  he  had  been 
told  by  the  Governor  of  Santiago  that  his 
movements  were  being  closely  watched  from  the 
shore,  that  indeed  no  move  was  made  without 
being  known  and  its  significance  noted.  As  soon 
therefore  as  the  squadron  had  steamed  into  the 
blue  water  that  lay  in  the  bight  of  land  forming 
what  might  be  called  the  Bay  of  Santiago,  it 
steamed  slowly  around,  past  the  harbor  mouth, 
close  enough  to  distinguish  the  guns  in  the 
forts.  Again  no  gun  was  fired.  Upon  reaching 
the  extreme  eastern  limit  of  the  bight  the  squad 
ron  was  formed  in  line  and  steamed  away  west 
ward  as  though  it  had  been  making  merely  a 
reconnaissance.  The  presumption  was  that  if 
Cervera  were  in  the  long-necked  and  land-locked 
harbor  of  Santiago  he  would,  if  the  feint  were 
successful,  move  down  toward  the  mouth  to  help 
resist  the  invader,  and  so  come  into  the  line  of 
vision. 


High   altar  in   the   Cathedrnl  at  Santiago  where  a  Te   Deum  was 
sung  on  the  arrival  of  Cervera's  fleet. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  21 

Steaming  away  westward  with  as  near  an  air 
of  disgust  and  disappointment  as  it  was  possible 
for  a  squadron  to  assume,  Schlej-  signaled  to  stop 
when  at  a  sufficient  distance,  it  being  then  one 
o'clock  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  the  vessels  hid 
themselves,  so  to  speak,  behind  a  point  of  land 
that  shut  out  all  observation  from  the  Santiago 
lookouts. 

When  Sunday  morning  broke,  and  Sunday 
seems  to  have  been  selected  as  the  day  of  deeds 
in  this  war,  all  steam  was  made  and  the  squadron 
went  churning  its  way  back  to  Santiago.  Put 
ting  the  keenest-eyed  men  aloft  and  arming  him 
self  with  the  biggest  pair  of  binoculars  that  the 
ship  possessed,  the  commodore  went  on  the 
bridge  and  headed  the  flagship  full  speed  for  the 
harbor  entrance.  Through  his  glasses  he  made 
out  the  earthworks  and  the  Spaniards  behind 
them,  but  no  glimpse  of  vessels  could  he  get. 
"When  five  miles  from  the  shore  the  lookouts 
reported  the  masts  of  three  ships  peeping  over 
the  entrance  cliffs.  This  was  promising,  but  the 
commodore  wanted  to  see  for  himself. 

Next  Flag-Lieutenant  Sears  and  Ensign 
McCalley,  who  were  perched  in  the  forward  fight 
ing  top,  declared  they  could  see  the  vessels,  and 
that  one  of  them  was  the  Cristobal  Colon.  Still 
Schley  kept  the  vessel  moving,  and  a  few  minutes 


22  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

later  word  was  shouted  down  from  aloft  that  two 
torpedo  boats  and  a  vessel  of  the  Vizcaya  class 
could  be  seen.  Still  the  Brooklyn  was  kept  on 
its  course,  until  for  an  instant  it  lay  right  in  a 
direct  line  of  sight  into  the  harbor.  In  that 
happy  moment  the  commodore  saw  that  his  ruse 
had  been  successful,  for  there  clustering  about 
the  inside  of  the  entrance  was  Cervera's  fleet. 

As  the  Brooklyn  was  turned  quickly  out, 
Schley  took  down  his  glasses  and  with  a  wink  of 
most  portentous  satisfaction  said : 

"I  told  you  I  would  find  them.  I  have  caught 
them  and  they  will  never  get  home." 

Gratified  as  the  commodore  was,  and  as  all  his 
men  were,  at  the  finding  of  Cervera's  fleet,  this 
pacific  end  of  the  chase  by  no  means  gratified 
the  sailors  and  the  fighting  men  of  the  deck. 
The  batteries  had  been  cleared,  the  men  stripped 
for  action,  and  though  the  temperature  was  a 
hundred  degrees  in  the  shade,  the  sailors  were 
hotter  still  to  fight.  But  Schley  believed  that  it 
was  no  time  for  a  fight.  For  three  days  a  howling 
storm  with  furious  gusts  of  rain-laden  wind  had 
been  sweeping  this  southeastern  shore,  the  great 
ships  were  heaving  and  bumping  in  the  cross 
running  waves,  and  as  an  effective  bombardment 
is  difficult  enough  under  the  best  conditions,  it 
was  Schley 's  opinion  that  he  might  rest  content 


The  Fall  of  Santiago,  23 

with  the  discovery  of  Cervera  as  the  final  act  of 
this  edition  of  the  play,  without  risking  an  anti 
climax  by  firing  shells  around  Santiago's  forts. 

Having  found  him,  however,  the  commodore 
was  very  determined  not  to  let  Cervera  escape, 
and  Sunday  evening,  May  29,  found  our  squad 
ron  in  battle  line  outside  Santiago,  the  Brooklyn 
on  the  east  of  the  line,  then  the  Massachusetts, 
the  Iowa,  the  New  Orleans  (Amazonas)  and  the 
Texas,  while  the  Marblehead  and  Vixen  scouted 
near  the  shore  and  the  Harvard  was  racing  over 
to  Kingston  to  cable  the  news  to  Washington. 

Cervera  and  his  twenty -million-dollars'  worth  of 
cruisers  had  been  found. 

Madrid,  it  was  learned  afterward,  characterized 
Cervera's  slip  into  Santiago  as  a  remarkable 
piece  of  strategy  and  a  tactician's  victory. 
Santiago  welcomed  Cervera  as  the  city's  savior. 
The  whole  community  turned  out  to  welcome  the 
admiral;  there  was  band-playing,  song-singing, 
speech-making,  fireworks  and  a  Te  Deum  of 
thankfulness  at  the  cathedral  with  the  Arch 
bishop  Monsignor  Saenz  y  Utero  y  Crespo 
officiating  in  his  most  gorgeous  raiment.  At 
Washington  the  receipt  of  the  news  was  regarded 
as  having  cleared  up  the  entire  situation,  and  as 
dispelling  the  clouds  of  uncertainty  which  had 
been  over  the  War  and  Navy  Department  for 


The  Fall  of  Santiago. 


D 


weeks.  It  meant  a  radical  cha?ige  in  the  plan  of 
campaign,  but  that  change  was  from  the 
general  to  the  particular.  It  crystallized  the 
operations  into  the  specific  act  of  capturing  or 
destroying  Cervera's  fleet  and  possibly  the  in 
vestment  and  capture  of  Santiago. 

With  the  sun  setting  of  Sunday,  May  29,  the 
wind  went  down  also,  and  there  could  be  heard 
the  great  diapason  of  the  Texas  men  singing  the 
hymn  "Pull  for  the  Shore,"  and  as  he  heard  it 
Schley  again  winked  that  portentous  wink  of  his 
and  said:  "We'll  be  pulling  there,  sure  enough, 
in  a  few  days." 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  25 


CHAPTER  II. 

HOW    HOBSON   SANK    THE  MEEEIMAC. 

WASHINGTON'S  reply  to  Schley 's  notification  of 
having  found  Cervera  was : 

"Under  no  circumstances  permit  ships  to 
escape.  Destroy  or  capture  them." 

And  as  the  circling  events  proved,  the  com 
modore  carried  out  those  instructions  to  the 
letter. 

Soon  after  this  order  reached  Schley,  he  was 
joined,  Wednesday  morning,  June  1,  by  Samp 
son  with  the  New  York,  Oregon  and  Mayflower, 
and  later  by  the  torpedo  boat  Porter,  the 
Dolphin  and  the  Adria  with  supplies  and  appli 
ances  for  grappling  and  cutting  marine  cables. 
Schley  went  on  board  the  New  York  to  report, 
and  it  was  thought  that  the  conference  would 
result  in  some  decided  action.  Schley  related 
what  has  been  told  here,  and  in  addition  told  of 
the  capture  of  Cervera 's  coal  ship,  the  Restormel, 
by  Captain  Sigsbee  of  the  St.  Paul,  under  the 
very  guns  of  Santiago's  El  Morro  on  the  25th  of 
May ;  of  the  bombardment  of  Santiago  on  May 


26  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

31,  in  which  the  batteries  of  Punta  Gorda,  El 
Morro  and  Zacopa  were  furiously  shelled,  and  so 
the  commodore  believed,  a  Spanish  cruiser  dis- 
abledo  He  thought  at  the  time  that  it  was  the 
Cristobal  Colon,  but  it  was  learned  afterward 
that  it  was  the  old  timer  Reina  Mercedes  which 
had  been  lying  at  Santiago.  It  was  learned,  too, 
that  a  shell  from  the  Massachusetts  had  struck 
this  cruiser,  which  had  been  drawn  up  behind 
the  harbor  entrance  as  a  sort  of  floating  battery, 
and,  exploding,  had  partially  sunk  the  ancient 
craft.  Schley  was  not  very  enthusiastic  over  the 
result  of  this  bombardment,  and  frankly  stated 
that  when  he  withdrew  at  six  o'clock  in  the  even 
ing  the  Zacopa  and  Punta  Gorda  batteries  were 
still  firing.  He  therefore  counseled  that  if  it 
were  decided  to  force  an  entrance  into  Santiago 
and  engage  Cervera  a  necessary  preliminary 
would  be  to  increase  the  blockading  fleet  with 
four  monitors  and  the  Helena,  the  Wilmington, 
the  Cincinnati,  the  Montgomery,  the  Detroit  and 
the  dynamite  boat  the  Vesuvius — especially  the 
latter — as  with  her  dynamite  bombs  she  might 
explode  the  mines  along  the  entrance  way  and  so 
clear  a  passage  into  the  harbor  after  silencing 
the  forts. 

Sampson  held,  however,  and  that  without  in 
the  faintest  discrediting  the  report  of  the  com- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  27 

modore,  that  the  absolute  identification  of  Cer- 
vera's  fleet  was  first  necessary,  and  the  identifica 
tion  being  complete,  the  bottling  up  of  that  fleet 
might  be  tried  in  a  somewhat  original  and  spec 
tacular  fashion.  The  following  out  of  these  two 
ideas  brought  into  the  fierce  light  of  fame  two 
young  men,  Lieutenant  Victor  Blue,  of  the  gun 
boat  Suwanee,  and  Naval  Constructor,  Richmond 
Pierson  Hobson. 

In  the  matter  of  occurrence,  as  well  as  in  the 
relatively  momentous  results,  the  enterprise  of 
Hobson  comes  easily  first.  But  lest  that  of  Blue 
should  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  brighter  light  of 
that  which  enhaloes  Hobson,  the  expedition  of 
the  lieutenant  shall  be  dealt  with  first. 

To  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  masts  of  warships 
through  the  sinuous  entrance  to  Santiago  harbor, 
and  to  look  down  on  those  warships  from  the 
heights  surrounding  Santiago  at  such  a  distance 
as  would  make  their  identification  absolute,  were 
rightly  esteemed  by  Sampson  as  two  entirely 
different  propositions;  the  one  being  burdened 
with  the  element  of  doubt,  the  other  being  en 
dowed  with  the  benefit  of  certainty.  Admiral 
Sampson  therefore  determined  to  send  a  man  on 
a  trip  of  inspection,  and  the  man  he  selected  for 
this  enterprise  was  Lieutenant  Blue,  who  had 
already  run  the  gauntlet  of  five  Spanish  gun- 


28  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  * 

boats  in  the  bay  of  Buena  Vista,  and  had  carried 
the  American  flag  to  the  spot  of  his  meeting 
with  General  Gomez. 

On  Saturday,  June  11,  Blue  was  landed  in  a 
little  cove  well  to  the  east  of  the  entrance  and 
pushing  his  way  through  a  country  swarming 
with  Spanish  soldiery,  and  through  the  swelter 
ing,  tangled  jungle,  only  halted  when  he  peered 
through  the  cacti  and  palms  which  crested  a  hill 
overlooking  the  old  city  and  the  long  blue  bay. 
In  the  bay  he  saw  Cervera's  fleet,  four  armored 
cruisers,  two  torpedo  boat  destroyers,  and  the 
wrecked  Eeina  Mercedes,  which  with  a  gunboat 
had  constituted  Santiago's  naval  defense  before 
the  arrival  of  Cervera.  Then  backward  through 
the  sweltering  jungle,  dodging  the  Spanish  out 
posts  and  wriggling  his  way  through  a  network 
of  tangling  vines  and  tearing  thorns,  until  on 
Monday,  ragged  but  triumphant,  he  stood  on  the 
quarter-deck  of  the  flagship  New  York  and  made 
his  report  to  Admiral  Sampson. 

Seventy-two  miles  of  travel  through  an  enemy's 
country  and  a  pathless  tropical  thicket,  is  a  deed 
which  in  times  of  ordinary  enterprise  would  stand 
out  as  a  matter  for  a  volume,  but  when  writing 
of  these  stirring  times  when  every  day  saw  some 
thing  done  that  marked  the  upspringingof  anew 
hero,  Lieutenant  Blue's  gallant  work  must  be  dis- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  29 

missed  with  a  paragraph.  It  is  the  misfortune  of 
comparison  which  diminishes  the  fact. 

So  many,  many  things  have  been  written  and 
said  and  sung  about  Hobson,  and  how  he  put  the 
stopper  into  the  Santiago  bottle  that  all  there 
remains  to  do  is  to  tell  a  clear  running  story  of 
the  actual  facts,  even  at  the  risk  of  brushing 
aside  one  or  two  illusions,  but,  of  course,  with 
out  minifying  the  heroism  of  accomplishment. 

When  sailing  eastward  along  the  northern 
coast  of  Cuba  the  contingencies  of  Cervera's  cap 
ture  were  more  than  once  discussed  on  board 
Sampson's  flagship — so  Sampson  reported  to 
Washington — and  it  was  during  one  of  these 
discussions  that  the  admiral  said : 

"I  think  it  quite  possible  we  shall  find  that 
Cervera  has  made  a  running  for  it  to  Santiago 
harbor.  If  so,  and  if  Schley  has  him  shut  up 
there  I  am  in  favor  of  closing  the  door  of  his 
prison  house  rather  than  of  attempting  to  batter 
down  the  door-post/' 

When  asked  what  this  plan  might  be  the 
admiral  replied  that  it  was  not  quite  formulated, 
but  that  it  embraced  the  sinking  of  an  obstruction 
in  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  "And  by  the  by," 
he  added,  "young  Hobson,  of  the  Construction 
Bureau,  is  just  the  man  I  want  to  consult  with. 
I  noticed  him  at  San  Juan  when  he  stood  at  our 
range-finder  timing  the  shells." 


30  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Hobson  was  sent  for  and  to  him  was  put  the 
proposition  of  "making  the  harbor  entrance 
secure  against  the  possibilities  of  egress  by  the 
Spanish  ships  by  obstructing  the  narrow  part  of 
the  entrance"  to  quote  Sampson's  words. 
Hobson  at  once  took  the  liveliest  interest  in  the 
plan  and  asked  for  a  day  or  two  in  which  to  con 
sider  the  problem  and  the  best  means  of  working 
it  out.  At  the  end  of  the  given  time  Hobson 
reported  to  the  admiral.  His  plan  briefly  was 
not  to  wait  for  stone-laden  barges,  which  had 
been  suggested  as  the  best  form  of  impediment, 
but  to  take  one  of  the  fleet  colliers  and  sink  her 
athwart  the  selected  place  in  the  channel.  Hob- 
son  showed  that  the  drawbacks  to  the  barge 
scheme  were  the  time  it  would  take  to  get  them 
from  a  United  States  port,  and  the  fact  that  they 
would  have  to  be  towed  into  position,  while  in 
the  case  of  the  collier  there  would  be  no  delay 
and  she  would  have  the  added  advantage  of  be 
ing  a  self-propelling  engine.  Hobson  wound  up 
by  entering  a  plea  that  to  him  might  be  intrusted 
the  active  carrying  out  of  the  plan. 

"You  know  all  that  this  means,  Hobson?" 
asked  the  admiral. 

"I  do,  sir,"  replied  Hobson;  and  the  admiral 
consented. 

No  one  who  knew  Hobson  could  very  well  see 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  31 

how  the  admiral  could  have  refused.  Upright  as 
one  of  his  own  Alabama  pines;  twenty -eight 
years  old;  ruggedly  simple  in  his  manners;  with 
dogged  determination  expressed  in  every  feature, 
from  the  deep  set  eyes,  along  the  pronounced 
bridge  of  the  nose  down  to  the  square-set  jaw; 
the  sweetheart  of  his  mother ;  not  afraid  to  show 
that  he  carried  a  Bible  in  his  kit;  a  student, 
equally  ready  to  pray  or  to  fight,  and  with  a 
long  record  of  having  done  both,  "Rich"  Hob- 
son  was  just  the  sort  of  man  that  any  other  man 
would  have  selected  for  the  short  and  fiery  cruise 
of  the  Merrimac. 

Sampson,  it  will  be  remembered,  joined  Schley 
off  Santiago  on  Wednesday  morning,  June  1, 
and  immediately  on  receiving  Schley 's  report 
sent  in  his  launch  to  reconuoiter  ashore.  The 
report  brought  back  confirmed  Schley 's  esti 
mates  of  the  difficulties  of  running  the  forts  and 
crystalized  his  resolution  to  attempt  the  bottling- 
up  process  and  to  attempt  it  at  once. 

The  collier  Merrimac  was  selected  for  the  office 
of  barrier.  A  Norwegian  steam  freighter,  called 
the  Solveid;  three  hundred  and  forty -four  feet 
long,  and  with  a  tonnage  of  five  thousand  three 
hundred  and  sixty-two  tons;  burned  out  while 
loading  grain  at  Newport  News,  April  27,  1897 ; 
repaired  at  the  Erie  Basin,  Brooklyn,  for  the 


32  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Lone  Star  Line,  and  standing  to  that  company 
at  one  hundred  and  ninety -two  thousand  dollars ; 
sold  to  the  government  for  three  hundred  and 
forty-two  thousand  dollars ;  no  beauty  and  gen 
erally  cantankerous  in  her  behavior — not  a  soul 
grieved  when  her  selection  for  sacrifice  was 
announced. 

As  soon  as  the  selection  was  made,  active  work 
was  begun  to  fix  her  up  for  the  slaughter.  All 
her  stores  were  taken  out  and  all  of  her  coal  ex 
cept  two  thousand  tons.  In  the  engine  room, 
not  to  be  technical,  the  covers  to  the  valves  of  the 
big  fire  pump  were  so  arranged  that  a  single 
blow  of  a  sledge  would  let  in  the  sea;  all  water 
tight  doors  were  opened,  and  where  possible,  the 
bulkheads  were  broken  down  so  as  to  give  free 
play  to  the  water  as  soon  as  it  was  admitted  into 
the  ship.  The  salient  part  of  the  plan  was  to 
scuttle  her  by  outside  explosion  and  as  a  means 
to  this  end,  ten  pitch  covered  8-inch  copper 
cases,  each  filled  with  eighty  pounds  of  ordinary 
brown,  prismatic  powder  and  each  fitted  with  an 
igniting  charge,  primer  and  connecting  wire  for 
electrically  exploding  the  charge,  were  lowered 
over  the  port  rail  until  they  rested  against  the 
side  of  the  vessel  just  below  the  water  line;  the 
charges  being  so  arranged  that  in  each  case  they 
would  bear  their  explosive  force  against  the 
space  between  the  bulkheads. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  33 

When  the  bombs  had  been  lowered  into  posi 
tion,  the  wires  for  exploding  the  charges  were 
run  along  the  deck  and  connected  with  a  main 
wire  leading  to  a  dry  battery  and  contact  key  on 
the  bridge.  Lastly,  in  the  way  of  preparation 
for  sinking  her  all  her  ports  were  lashed  open  I 
and  the  four  cargo  ports  (the  openings  in  the 
sides  of  the  ship  through  which  a  cargo  is  taken 
on  while  the  vessel  is  lying  at  her  dock)  were 
opened,  two  forward  and  two  aft,  there  being 
about  three  feet  of  freeboard  from  the  water  to 
the  lower  edge  of  the  cargo  ports — that  is,  that 
as  the  vessel  lay  drawing  sixteen  feet  of  water 
these  openings  were  nineteen  feet  above  her  keel. 

All  these  preparations  meant  that,  were  they 
successfully  and  simultaneously  carried  out,  at  the 
touch  of  the  key  and  the  blow  of  the  sledge  ham 
mer,  six  great  gaping  holes  would  be  torn  in  the 
ship's  sides,  the  great  sea  valves  would  be 
opened,  and  as  the  vessel  shuddered  and  rocked 
under  the  explosion  the  sea  would  rush  into  her 
and,  thus  inundated  from  stem  to  stern  by 
twleve  rushing  cataracts  of  water,  the  Merrimac 
would  go  down  like  a  rock  dropped  from  a  cliff 
into  the  sea.  Lastly,  as  the  plan  for  bringing 
her  to  a  sudden  halt  at  the  desired  locality,  both 
of  the  ship's  anchors  were  lashed  over  the  rail 
at  the  starboard  quarter  in  such  a  way  that  the 


34:  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

chop  of  an  ax  would  cut  the  lashings  and  drop 
them  in  an  instant.  Then,  not  that  there  was 
very  much  hope  that  they  would  be  used,  but  as 
a  Christian  precaution,  a  lifeboat  and  a  cata 
maran  life  raft  were  slung  over  the  side  by  steel 
lines  and  a  ship's  launch  was  to  be  detailed  to 
follow  in  the  wake  and  pick  up  the  survivors  of 
this  Enterprise  Perilous. 

All  day  long  two  hundred  men  were  busy  as 
bees  stripping  the  Merrimac  and  preparing  her 
for  her  last  trip.  From  first  to  last,  and  that 
without  any  planning  on  the  part  of  the  partici 
pators,  the  incident  of  the  Merrimac  was  most 
spectacular.  As  the  men  pulled  and  tore  and 
dragged  at  their  work  of  discharging  the  collier 
Merrimac  and  charging  her  as  a  death  machine, 
they  sang  sometimes  cheerily,  sometimes  dole 
fully ;  and  as  they  sang  and  worked,  one  of  those 
black  rattling  thunderstorms  which  punctuate 
Cuba's  rainy  season,  came  rolling  up  over  the 
Santiago  hills,  and  each  time  the  sudden  dark 
ness  was  ripped  by  a  lightning  flash,  the  men 
could  still  be  seen  at  their  work  and  could  be 
heard  roaring  out  their  apostrophe  to  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner  "or  putting  the  best  harmonies 
that  they  knew  to  the  staccato  refrain  of  "Home 
Sweet  Home." 

As  these  men  worked  the  other  men  on  board 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  35 

the  different  vessels  of  the  fleet  were  called  out 
in  obedience  to  a  signal  from  the  flagship  that 
volunteers  were  wanted,  and  were  told  just  what 
was  to  be  done ;  that  no  compulsory  detail  would 
be  made ;  and  that  it  must  be  from  those  wil 
lingly  offering  their  services  that  the  Herri- 
mac's  last  crew  would  be  made  up.  There  had 
been  no  attempt  to  veil  the  character  of  the  en 
terprise,  in  fact  it  was  the  policy  of  the  admiral 
in  this  case  to  see  that  the  full  gravity  of  the 
plan  was  known  all  over  the  fleet. 

"When  the  demand  for  volunteers  was  therefore 
made  the  men  knew  that  they  were  to  steer  an 
undefended,  non-combatting  ship  into  the  very 
mouth  of  Santiago  harbor.  That  no  concealment 
of  the  vessel's  presence  was  possible  or  was  even 
contemplated.  That  every  gun  guarding  Santi 
ago  that  could  be  trained  upon  the  Merrimac 
would  be  pointed  and  fired  at  her.  That — for 
such  was  the  idea  then — she  would  be  in  point- 
blank  range  of  the  great  rapid  firing  Maxim- 
Nordenfeldt  guns  supposed  to  be  at  Morro ;  of 
the  whole  of  the  Socapa  battery,  of  the  Hontorias 
and  long  bronzes  at  Punta  Gorda,  of  the  guns 
reputed  to  be  at  Cayo  Smith — the  island  which 
stands  at  the  inner  end  of  the  harbor  entrance, 
and  of  all  the  cannon,  big  and  little,  that  were 
believed  to  have  been  placed  at  every  vantage 


36  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

point  about  the  harbor's  mouth — that,  in  fact, 
she  would  be  the  target  for  more  [and  heavier 
guns  than  were  trained  on  Cardigan's  light 
cavalry  at  Balaklava.  They  believed  that  their 
chances  of  destruction  were  in  the  proportion  of 
one  thousand  to  one  of  escape ;  that  death  was  the 
programme  and  that  escape  would  be  the  miracle. 
They  believed  that  not  only  did  certain  annihila 
tion  menace  them  from  all  around,  but  that  they 
were  to  travel  to  destruction  on  a  vehicle  which 
they  themselves  had,  at  the  critical  instant,  to 
destroy.  That  if  by  God's  mercy  they  did  get 
into  the  channel  to  that  point  where  it  was  in 
tended  she  should  lie  as  a  barrier,  they  were  to 
sink  what  remained  of  their  craft  instantly  and 
effectually,  and  gthen  to  save  themselves  as  best 
they  could  by  the  lifeboat  or  raft.  They  be 
lieved,  granting,  still  by  God's  mercy,  they  had 
sunk  the  Merrimac  where  she  should  be  sunk  and 
had  got  on  board  their  frail  means  of  escape,  that 
they  would  be  still  subjected  to  the  hail  of  shot 
from  the  batteries.  They  knew  and  believed  all 
of  t^ese  things,  yet  when  volunteers  were  asked 
for — six  were  wanted — it  was  not  from  twice 
or  even  ten  times  six  that  the  selection  had  to 
be  made. 

Every  man  in  the  fleet  wanted  to  go. 

In  actual  figures  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  37 

men  volunteered  from  the  Iowa,  one  hundred  and 
forty  from  the  Texas,  one  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  from  the  flagship — men  and  officers  crowd 
ing  forward  and  pleading  to  be  allowed  a  chance 
not  to  do  or  die,  but  to  do  and  die — so  many  in 
literal  fact  that  had  all  been  accepted  there  would 
not  have  been  a  working  crew  left  on  board  a 
single  ship. 

The  men  who  were  selected  out  of  the  pushing, 
crowding,  shouting  body  of  volunteers  were: 
gunner 's-rnate  Philip  O'Boyle  of  the  Texas; 
gun-captain  Mill  of  the  New  Orleans;  seaman 
Anderson  of  the  Massachusetts  seaman  Wade; 
of  the  Vixen;  two  of  the  Merrimac's  men  and 
Hobson.  The  Vixen,  when  the  selection  had 
been  made,  steamed  about  the  fleet  picking  up 
the  men  and  then  headed  for  the  Merrimac  with 
the  double  purpose  of  putting  the  volunteers  on 
board  and  taking  off  the  collier's  crew. 

And  here  an  odd  thing  came  to  pass.  Com 
mander  Miller,  of  the  Merrimac,  and  the  crew  of 
the  Merrimac  rebelled.  They  were  in  charge  of 
the  ship  they  said,  and  if  there  was  anything  to 
be  done  with  the  old  craft  that  was  better  than 
slinging  coal,  any  chance  of  distinguishing  them 
selves,  it  was  but  right  and  fair  they  should  have 
the  benefit  of  that  chance.  They  could  run  the 
Merrimac,  they  could  sink  her,  and  they  could  die 


38  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

just  as  well  as  any  one  else.  It  was  the  insubor 
dination  of  devotion,  the  disobedience  of  hero 
ism.  So  pertinacious  in  their  determination 
were  the  Merrimac's  men,  indeed,  that  they 
would  not  and  did  not  leave  her  until  the 
admiral  had  sent  a  sharp  command  to  vacate, 
and  then  the}'  left  growling  and  swearing  at 
being  driven  back  to  the  ordinary  risks  of  war. 

At  midnight  Admiral  Sampson  went  on  board 
the  Merrimac  to  inspect  the  arrangements,  said 
they  were  excellent,  and  left  with  the  full  inten 
tion  of  having  the  vessel  go  in  by  daybreak  that 
morning,  Thursday,  June  2.  The  tide,  however, 
did  not  exactly  serve  and  the  admiral  decided  to 
postpone  the  attempt  until  the  next  night. 
Word  was  sent  to  Hobson  to  this  effect,  Hobson 
sending  back  the  message: 

"Mr.  Hobson's  compliments  to  the  admiral, 
and  he  requests  that  he  be  allowed  to  make  the 
attempt  now,  feeling  certain  that  he  can 
succeed." 

To  this  the  admiral  sent  reply,  "Wait  until 
to-morrow,"  and  so  far  as  postponement  went, 
that  ended  it.  The  plans  were  not  changed, 
although  the  postponement  brought  about  a 
change  in  the  people.  Hobson  remained,  but  it 
was  considered  by  the  head  judges  of  character 
that  the  first  batch  of  volunteers  had  undergone 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  39 

too  great  a  strain  by  the  long  wait  without  com 
pensating  event,  and  so  they  were  sent  back  to 
their  ships  as  wretched  and  broken-hearted  a  set  of 
men  as  ever  had  their  lives  given  back  to  them. 
Again,  came  the  mustering  for  volunteers,  again, 
the  scenes  of  enthusiasm,  and  again,  the  selection 
of  the  little  band  of  volunteers.  The  octette  of 
immortals  were  these : 

Hobson,  of  course;  George  Charette,  gunner's- 
mateof  the  flagship  New  York;  Osborn Diegnan, 
coxswain  of  the  Merrimac;  George  F.  Phillips, 
machinist  of  the  Merrimac;  Francis  Kelly,  water- 
tender  of  the  Merrimac;  Daniel  Montague, 
master-at-arms  of  the  Brooklyn ;  J.  C.  Murphy, 
coxswain  of  the  Iowa;  and  Randolph  Cranson, 
coxswain  of  the  New  York. 

Six  men  only  were  chosen  as  before,  but  Gran- 
sou  dropped  down  in  the  darkness  to  the  Merri 
mac  and  hid  in  the  hold.  When  this  remarkable 
stowaway  was  discovered  it  was  too  late  to  send 
him  back  and  he  was  allowed  to  stay. 

The  Merrimac 's  old  officers  and  men  having 
been  sent  to  the  Texas  in  growling  discontent, 
and  the  new  volunteers  being  safely  on  board 
the  collier,  she  lay  alongside  the  flagship  in 
order  to  receive  final  instructions.  So  that  Hob- 
son  and  his  men  might  be  relieved  of  all  work 
except  the  great  task  of  running  his  vessel 


40  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

through  the  gauntlet  of  flame  and  shot,  a  pilot 
was  detailed  to  give  Hobson  the  steerway  up  to 
the  harbor  entrance,  and  a  special  crew  of  forty 
volunteers  was  sent  on  board  to  work  her  to  that 
point  where  the  pilot  was  to  leave  and  the  Merri- 
mac  was  to  take  her  final  run. 

As  the  afternoon  wore  on  another  great  thun 
derstorm  came  up,  but  with  sunset  came  a  quiet 
— skies  clearing  where  they  had  been  black  and 
riven  by  lightning,  and  seas  running  smoothly 
where  they  had  been  whipped  and  torn  by  the 
fierce  gusts  of  wind,  and  the  cascades  of  water 
that  always  accompanjr  these  sub-tropical  sum 
mer  storms.  Hobson  came  on  board  the  flagship 
about  nightfall  to  see  the  admiral.  He  was  in 
full  uniform,  but  as  he  had  been  crawling  around 
through  the  bulkheads  of  the  collier  and  person 
ally  inspecting  the  layout  of  the  torpedoes  and 
the  unshipping  of  the  sea  valves,  he  was  in  a 
condition  of  grime  that  passes  description.  He 
started  to  apologize,  but  the  admiral  stopped 
him. 

"Every  soot  spot  is  a  service  mark,  Mr.  Hob- 
son,"  he  said. 

Hobson  was  told  that  Naval  Cadet  Joseph 
Wright  Powell,  a  slip  of  a  fellow  from  Oswego, 
N.  Y.,  would  follow  the  Merrimac  in  the  New 
York's  launch  and  pick  them  up,  on  which  he 
turned  to  the  cadet  and  said : 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  41 

"Powell,  watch  the  boat's  crew  when  we  pull 
out  of  the  harbor.  We  will  be  cracks  rowing 
thirty  strokes  to  the  minute." 

He  had  not  been  told,  however,  that  there  had 
been  almost  as  fierce  a  fight  for  the  command  of 
the  launch  as  there  had  been  for  a  position  in  the 
Merrimac's  forlorn  hope;  that  the  contest,  which 
had  almost  developed  into  a  scrimmage,  had  nar 
rowed  down  to  an  issue  between  Cadets  Palmer 
and  Powell,  and  that  these  two  had  settled  the 
matter  by  drawing  cigarettes  from  a  box,  he 
who  drew  the  last  being  the  man  to  go.  When 
Hobson  in  all  his  grime  and  in  the  full  knowl 
edge  of  what  he  had  to  face  left  the  admiral  to 
go  on  board  the  Merrimac,  the  officers  and  men 
all  crowded  round  to  shake  him  by  the  hand  and 
wish  him  a  God's  blessing.  It  was  noted  by 
those  who  did  get  at  his  hand  and  who  could 
look  closely  into  his  face,  that  there  was  not  the 
faintest  assumption  in  his  demeanor  that  he  was 
going  to  do  something  great  and  unusual,  but 
the  simple,  quiet  bearing  and  the  unaffected  tem 
perature  of  a  man  who  had  a  duty  to  do  and  who 
was  not  in  the  habit  of  letting  his  duty  interfere 
with  his  heartbeat. 

Night  came  and  with  it  a  moon  that  silvered 
the  hills  around  Santiago,  but  which  left  the 
harbor  mouth  in  deep  shadow.  The  fleet  with- 


42  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

drew  to  about  six  miles  from  sliore  forming  a 
crescent,  leaving  in  the  center  of  its  arc  the  Mer- 
rimac.  When  last  seen  by  the  fleet's  men  Hob- 
son  was  standing  on  the  collier's  bridge  talk 
ing  to  the  pilot.  The  subsidary  crew  was  at  its 
post  and  in  its  usual  garb,  but  Hobson's  aspecial 
men  were  grouped  underneath  the  bridge  and 
were  stripped  to  their  underclothing.  Midnight 
was  sounded  on  the  fleet  bells,  then  the  first 
three  morning  hours,  and  still  no  signal  from 
the  admiral  for  the  Merrimac  to  move. 

At  last,  at  twenty-five  minutes  past  three  of 
Friday,  June  3,  the  lamp  signals  to  start  were 
run  up  and  the  Merrimac  began  to  move.  If 
eyes  had  been  strained  to  see  the  last  of  Hobson, 
they  were  strained  doubly  now  to  see  the  last  of 
the  Merrimac.  It  was  the  pilot's  duty  to  run 
the  collier  into  such  a  position  that  it  meant  a 
clear  straight- away  dash  to  the  harbor  entrance, 
but  to  the  strung  senses  of  the  watchers  every 
thing  appeared  to  be  going  wrong,  and  as 
though  fate  were  determined  to  give  Hobson  and 
his  men  every  possible  wrench.  The  Merrimac 
was  seen  to  flutter,  as  it  were,  for  a  moment,  and 
it  was  thought  that  she  was  off  her  course.  Then 
she  was  seen  again  running  and  then  to  stop. 
This  time  it  was  made  out  that  she  was  properly 
headed  and  that  the  pilot  and  subsidiary  crew 
were  leaving  her. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  43 

So  quiet  was  the  night  and  so  still  was  every 
one  keeping  that  through  her  open  ports  and 
hatchways  could  be  heard  the  jingle  of  the  Mer- 
rimac's  engine-room  bell,  and  as  it  was  heard  the 
smoke  was  seen  to  come  tumbling  out  of  her 
funnel  as  she  jumped  ahead.  Then  the  fleet  saw 
her  no  more,  for  she  had  entered  the  great 
shadows  of  the  harbor  hills. 

The  light  of  El  Morro  burned  bright  but  quiet, 
and  as  it  was  not  swept  over  the  arc  of  the  en 
trance  the  watchers  imagined  for  one  wild 
moment  that  the  Merrimac  might  have  slipped 
by  the  forts  unobserved,  but  scarcely  had  this 
hope  been  formed  when  from  out  the  eastern  side 
there  came  an  arrow  of  flame,  and  with  this 
signal  flash  and  following  roar,  the  hills  on  each 
side  of  the  harbor  became  volcanoes. 

By  Cadet  Powell,  in  charge  of  the  launch,  act 
ing  as  life  saver,  it  was  calculated  that  Hobson 
had  got  to  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the 
entrance  before  the  first  shore  gun  was  fired,  and 
to  his  wrought-up  fancy  it  seemed  that  not  even 
in  a  bombardment  from  the  fleet  had  he  seen  such 
a  screaming,  flashing,  continuous  fire  as  that 
which  followed  the  Spanish  gunner's  discovery 
of  the  Merrimac. 

Certainly  the  water  about  the  collier  was  white 
with  foam  as  though  it  had  been  whipped  with 


44  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

a  hail  storm,  while  to  the  plunging  fire  of  the 
batteries  was  added  the  continuous  rattle  of  the 
garrison's  musketry.  Powell  held  it  to  be  abso 
lutely  impossible  for  the  Merrimao  even  to 
advance  in  the  face  of  such  a  reception,  much 
less  live,  but  on  she  plowed  through  it  all  until, 
just  as  she  had  been  lost  to  the  view  of  the  fleet 
in  the  shadow  of  the  cliffs,  so,  she  was  lost  to 
Powell's  view  as  she  dashed  in  between  them. 

Then  above  the  scream  and  roar  of  the  guns 
and  the  snap  and  whistle  of  the  rifles  came  five 
thunder  claps  that  drowned  all  the  Spaniard's 
noise  and  the  fleet  knew  either  that  she  had  been 
blown  up  by  mines,  or  at  least,  one  man  had 
lived  through  it  all  and  had  touched  off  the 
battery. 

Then  a  silence  where  there  had  been  such  an 
uproar  and  nothing  seen  until  a  quarter  past  five, 
when  Powell's  launch  was  discovered  steaming 
out  from  the  shore  followed  by  a  new  clatter  and 
shrieking  from  the  Spanish  forts  as  they  picked 
up  this  little  craft  and  did  their  best  to  blow  her 
into  matchwood.  But  she  raced  safely  to  the 
shelter  of  the  flagship's  drab  sides,  although  it 
was  to  bring  the  sad  report  that  "No  one  had 
come  out  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbor."  No 
one  had  supposed  that  Powell  would  save  a  single 
member  of  the  Merrimac's  men  or  that  any  one 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  45 

would  be  left  to  save.  So  Powell's  report  was 
simply  looked  on  as  one  of  the  incidents  in  the 
inevitable  catastrophe. 

But  no,  Hobson  had  not  only  measurably  done 
what  he  started  to  do,  he  had  done  it  without  los 
ing  a  man,  and  almost  without  a  scratch.  Eiddled 
like  a  sieve  as  she  was  he  had  pushed  the  Herri- 
mac  past  the  forts,  over  the  mines,  two  of  which 
exploded,  and  had  driven  her  staggering  right  to 
the  selected  spot  and  then,  while  shot  and  shell 
plowed  and  plunged  about  them,  each  man  had 
done  his  particular  duty  as  though  fear  or  haste, 
or  need  to  haste  were  unknown  quantities. 

The  anchor  lines  were  cut,  the  two  anchors 
flew  down  bringing  the  ship  up  with  a  jerk  as 
their  flukes  caught  below,  and  then,  as  the  tide 
swung  her  round  in  the  channel,  the  valves  were 
opened,  engines  stopped,  and  with  three  bellow 
ing  crashes  and  three  rending  staggering  blows 
at  her  sides,  that  number  of  torpedoes  was  ex 
ploded  and  the  Merrimac  settled  in  ninety 
seconds  and  in  thirty  feet  of  water. 

The  whaleboat  had  been  blown  to  pieces  but 
the  catamaran  was  saved,  and  on  this  Hobson 
and  his  men  leaped  just  before  the  ship  began  to 
settle.  There  was  no  chance  for  them  to  get  into 
the  open  sea  and  so  Hobson,  characteristically, 
decided  to  make  for  the  Spanish  shore.  As  the. 


46  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Spanish  gunners  saw  the  raft  put  off  from  the 
sinking  hulk  they  forbore  to  fire,  and  when  the 
men  reached  shore  the  Spanish  gunners  shook 
hands  with  them  and  patted  them  on  the  back. 
And  when  they  were  marched  as  prisoners  to 
Cervera,  the  Spanish  admiral  not  only  shook 
hands  with  them  and  patted  them  on  the  back, 
but  embraced  the  quiet  Alabamian  and  told  him 
that  he  was  a  man  after  his  own  heart. 

More  than  this,  he  sent  Captain  Oviedo,  his 
chief  of  staff,  out  to  Admiral  Sampson  with  a  flag 
of  truce  and  a  long  message  of  compliments,  a 
report  of  what  had  been  accomplished,  all  done 
as  an  act  of  appreciation  shown  by  one  sailor  to 
another  sailor  concerning  the  brave  act  of  still 
another  sailor. 

And  so  it  was  learned  that  what  Hobson 
had  started  out  to  do  he  had  done.  He  had 
done  it  with  nothing  more  than  the  hope  that  he 
might  be  allowed  to  live  long  enough  to  sink  his 
ship,  but  to  him  and  to  the  brave  men  who  were 
with  him  there  had  come  that  sheltering  hand 
that  seems  always  extended  over  those  who,  with 
clear  heads  and  calm  souls,  go  steadfastly  along 
their  lines  of  duty. 

Neither  the  entities  of  history  nor  of  narrative 
will  be  destroyed  if  it  is  told  here  how  "with 
weeping  and  with  laughter"  Hobson  and  his  fel- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  47 

low  heroes  came  into  the  American  lines  July  6. 
It  had  been  supposed,  in  view  of  Admiral  Cer- 
vera's  extreme  courteousness  toward  the  con 
structor,  that  an  exchange  of  the  Merrimac's  men 
might  easily  be  effected.  Such  was  not  the  case, 
however,  and  after  dallying  negotiations  which 
were  carried  limpingly  around  the  circle  from 
Blanco  to  Washington,  and  from  AVashington  to 
Madrid,  from  Madrid  to  Santiago  and  thence  to 
Havana  again,  the  matter  came  to  a  standstill. 

It  happened,  however,  that  at  the  battle  of  El 
Caney  we  had  captured,  among  many  others,  a 
Lieutenant  Arios,  of  the  aristocratic  Barcelona 
regiment,  and  with  Arios  and  his  fellow-officers 
in  our  hands  we  were  able  effectually  to  treat  for 
an  exchange.  On  the  morning  of  July  6,  a 
meeting  took  place  under  a  tree  midway  between 
the  lines  of  the  Rough  Eiders  and  those  of  the 
first  Spanish  intrencbnients.  Colonel  John 
Jacob  Astor  conducted  to  this  rendezvous  three 
Lieutenants  Volez,  Aurolius,  and  Arios,  besides 
fourteen  sergeants,  corporals  and  privates. 
Hobson  and  his  men  came  out  under  charge  of 
Major  Iries,  a  Spanish  staff  officer.  The  Spanish 
prisoners  were  kept  blindfolded  until  they 
reached  the  point  of  exchange;  the  eyes  of  the 
American  prisoners  were  unbandaged.  Iries  was 
told  that  he  might  have  all  fourteen  of  the  men 


48  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  . 

and  his  choice  of  the  officers.  Without  hesita 
tion  he  chose  the  aristocrat.  Then  Colonel  A  stor 
put  out  his  hand  to  Hobson  saying : 

"My  name  is  Astor,  and  I'm  mighty  glad  to 
welcome  you  back  to  freedom.'* 

"Thank  you,  colonel,"  replied  the  Alabamian, 
"if  you  are  half  as  glad  as  I  am  to  get  back, 
there  is  no  question  as  to  the  warmth  of  your 
welcome." 

Then  the  Spanish  major  and  the  American 
colonel  looked  at  their  watches,  and  seeing  that 
the  hour  of  truce,  during  which  this  little  pacific 
interlude  had  been  conducted,  was  on  the  point 
of  expiring,  bowed  with  Americo-Castilian 
politeness  to  each  other  and  went  back  to  their 
lines. 

If  Hobson  had  been  of  the  stuff  that  is  puffed 
into  bullfrog  uselessness  he  would  surely  have 
been  spoiled  by  the  reception  which  his  fighting 
compatriots  accorded  him  from  the  first  intrench- 
ment  to  the  last  vessel  of  the  fleet.  The  Rough 
Riders,  cowboys  and  college  men,  swarmed  out  of 
the  trenches  and  over  the  guns  yelling  like  Com- 
anches;  swept  them  off  their  feet  and  bore  them 
on  their  shoulders  inside  the  lines.  Then  the 
colored  troopers  swarmed  about  and  the  Alabama 
white  shook  hands  with  the  Georgia  black  as 
though  slave  days  had  ended  five  centuries  ago; 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  49 

every  soldier  who  knew  what  was  going  on 
yelled  as  though  he  had  personally  secured  free 
dom  from  a  Spanish  cell;  the  wounded  in  the 
hospital  at  Siboney  sat  up  in  their  cots  and 
cheered,  and  when  the  launch  bearing  the  re 
leased  prisoners  put  off  from  Daiquiri  in  the  dusk 
of  the  evening  and  made  for  the  New  York,  every 
ship's  whistle  tooted  and  every  ship's  men 
cheered,  and  even  Admiral  Sampson  stepped  over 
his  habitual  reserve  and  embraced  Hobson  with 
almost  as  much  effusion  as  had  the  Spanish 
admiral. 

Hobson 's  story,  a  characteristically  simple 
one,  cleared  up  many  points  that  had  been  in 
doubt.  He  said  that  he  and  his  associates  had 
been  confined  in  Morro  Castle  but  four  days, 
being  removed  thence  on  board  the  Eeina  Mer 
cedes  which  the  Spanish  were  using  as  a  hospital 
ship.  The  kind  greeting  which  Cervera  had 
granted  them  bore  its  fruit  and  during  the 
whole  thirty-three  days  of  their  incarceration 
their  treatment  by  the  Spanish  was  most  cour 
teous. 

It  was  not  a  keen  sighted  gunner,  as  had  been 
supposed,  who  first  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
Merrimao  stealing  into  Santiago,  but  a  patrol 
boat  which  ran  close  up  under  the  stern  of  the 
Merrimac  and  fired  several  shots  at  her  from  a 


50  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

three-pounder.  In  this  fire  the  Merrimac's  rud 
der  was  carried  away.  The  picket  boat  at  once 
gave  the  alarm  and  in  a  moment  the  guns  of  the 
Vizcaya,  Almirante  Oquendo  and  shore  batteries 
were  turned  upon  the  collier,  while  sub-marine 
mines  and  torpedoes  grumbled  and  exploded  all 
about  her. 

When  the  Merrimac  was  in  the  desired  posi 
tion  and  the  attempt  was  made  to  throw  her 
across  the  channel  the  loss  of  the  rudder  was 
discovered.  It  was  not  possible  therefore,  to  do 
this,  but  the  anchors  were  thrown  out  and  the 
tide  swung  her  so  that  she  blocked  the  passage 
way  for  some  three-quarters  of  it.  As  the 
anchors  were  dropped  the  catamaran  was 
launched  and  Hobson  touched  off  the  battery. 
At  that  same  moment  two  torpedoes,  fired  by  the 
Reina  Mercedes,  struck  the  Merrimac  amidships 
and  in  the  combined  shock  the  collier  was  lifted 
out  of  the  water  and  almost  rent  asunder. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  one  of  the  first 
acts  of  Hobson  after  his  return  to  the  New  York 
was  a  request  to  the  admiral  that  he  might  be 
allowed  to  take  a  battleship  into  the  harbor, 
claiming  that  the  shore  fortifications  were  not 
nearly  as  formidable  as  was  supposed.  Quite  as 
characteristically,  Sampson  concluded  that  his 
policy  of  long  distance  bombardment  was  better 
than  the  constructor's  plan  of  venture  and  dash. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  51 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW   THE   MARINES   FOUGHT   AT   GUANTANAMO. 

THE  whole  campaign  at  Santiago  was  so  full  of 
spectacular  effects  and  valiant  deeds,  done  in 
dividually  and  collectively,  that  what  would 
under  ordinary  circumstances  mark  an  epoch, 
becomes  but  an  incident  in  the  revival  of 
America's  military  spirit.  Treading  close  on  the 
heels  of  Hobson's  exploit,  for  instance,  came 
Huntington's  defense  of  Fisherman's  Point  at 
Guantanamo  Bay,  leading  up  to  the  first  battle 
on  Cuban  soil,  and  of  which  some  future  his 
torian  will  make  a  book. 

With  Cervera  at  Santiago,  the  seat  of  war  in 
the  West  Indies,  as  has  been  said,  was  suddenly 
and  distinctively  removed  to  that  port.  It 
meant  the  determination  to  destroy  the  Spanish 
admiral's  fleet  together  with  the  city's  invest 
ment  by  sea  and  land,  and  our  government  at 
once  set  to  work  to  dispatch  the  beleaguering 
forces  southward.  But  the  mobilization  and 
transport  of  an  invading  army,  especially  when 
that  army  is  to  enter  on  a  tropical  campaign  and 


52  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

has  been  raised  from  the  basis  of  a  citizen 
soldiery,  is  a  task  whose  rapid  and  successful 
accomplishment  should  mean  the  canonization  of 
the  quartermaster-general.  In  every  such  en 
terprise  some  bureau,  some  group  of  men,  is  sure 
to  be  ahead  of  the  others — to  form  a  sort  of  pro 
cess  on  the  body  military,  so  to  speak.  In  this 
case  it  was  Lieutenant  Colonel  Robert  W.  Hunt- 
ington  and  his  six  hundred  marines,  who  for 
weeks  had  been  cramped  and  packed  on  the 
sweltering  decks  of  the  troop  ship  Panther  off 
Tampa,  before  her  commander  received  instruc 
tions  to  weigh  anchor  and  report  to  Sampson  off 
Santiago. 

It  was  at  ten  o'clock  on  Friday  morning,  June 
10,  that  the  troop  ship  under  convoy  of  the  Yo- 
eemite  steamed  up  to  the  blockading  fleet  and  half 
an  hour  later  she  had  put  about  for  Guantanamo 
to  land  her  marines.  The  place  had  been  selected 
as  a  base  of  operations  and  supplies,  and,  topo 
graphically  it  was  an  ideal  selection.  The  harbor 
of  Guantanamo  is  one  of  the  best  on  the  south 
coast  of  Cuba.  It  lies  thirty-eight  miles  east  of 
Santiago,  the  town  and  fort  being  situated  about 
five  miles  back  from  the  coast.  There  are  no 
established  fortifications  to  speak  of  at  the  en 
trance  to  the  harbor,  but  prior  to  the  arrival  of 
the  Panther's  men,  the  Spaniards — who  kept 


Guantanamo   Bay  and  its  surrounding — Where  Huntington's  marines  established  the  first 
United  States  military  camp  in  Cuba. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  53 

singularly  well  informed  as  to  our  intended 
movements — had  thrown  up  earthworks  and  dug 
rifle  pits  from  which  to  command  this  entrance. 
Here,  in  order  to  understand  what  follows,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  gain  as  clear  an  idea  as  possi 
ble  of  the  lay  of  the  land. 

Looking  shoreward  from  on  board  ship  you 
would  see  to  the  west,  that  is  to  the  left  of  the 
entrance,  a  rather  extensive  strip  of  low  lying, 
swampy  ground.  To  the  right  is  a  sandy  stretch 
covered  with  bushes  and  cacti  from  which  rises 
the  shoulder  of  a  range  of  steep,  almost  precipi 
tous,  rocky  hills  running  parallel  with  the  shore 
and  ending  in  a  lagoon.  Up  and  down  the  face 
of  the  hills  are  jutting  rocks  and  patches  of  faded 
vegetation,  while  at  their  base  on  the  little  rocky 
ledge  or  beach  is,  or  was,  a  straggling  collection 
of  fishermen's  huts,  one  or  two  stores,  and  the 
distinctively  clean  looking  cable  office.  Between 
the  swampy  lowland  of  the  west  and  the  cliff- 
like  hills  of  the  east  lay  spread  out  the  curving 
waterway  into  Guantanamo  harbor.  On  the 
bare,  brown  summit  of  a  bluff  which  formed  a 
step  of  the  cliff  and  in  caves  in  the  cliff  itself, 
the  Spaniards  had  placed  their  earthworks  and 
rifle  pits  and  out  of  these  earthworks  and  rifle 
pits,  Captain  McCalla  had  driven  them  on  the 
day  before  with  the  guns  of  the  Marblehead. 


54  The  Fall  of  Santiago.* 

If  you  landed  and  toiled  up  one  of  the  steep 
zig-zag  trails  until  you  stood  on  the  top  of  the 
bluff  beside  the  deserted  earthworks  and  looked 
inland  you  would  see  that  the  shore  mountains 
really  comprised  three  distinct,  heavily-wooded 
ranges  of  a  gradually  increasing  elevation  and 
with  equally  heavily-wooded  gullies  between  the 
ridges.  Back  of  the  ridges  stretched  out  the 
flat  lands  around  the  upper  end  of  the  bay  on 
which  it  set  down  the  city  of  Guantanamo. 
Looking  across  the  bay  you  would  see  the  village 
and  fort  of  Caimanera  and  the  railroad  running 
up  to  Guantanamo. 

When  the  Panther  reached  Guantanamo  bay 
the  fishing  village  and  its  defenses  were  found  to 
be  deserted  alike  by  fishermen  and  soldiers. 
The  marines  were  all  landed,  in  quick  and  easy 
order,  running  and  cheering  and  stretching 
their  legs  like  a  lot  of  schoolboys  at  recess. 
Then  they  lugged  their  equipage  up  the  trails  to 
the  breezy  bluff,  where  they  pitched  their  tents, 
established  camp  and  named  it  after  the  com 
mander  of  the  Marblehead.  The  Spaniards  had 
left  a  flagpole  and  just  before  sunset,  while  the 
shore  detail  was  burning  up  the  wretched  little 
village  below,  as  the  most  convenient  form  of 
fumigating  the  locality,  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
were  run  up  at  Camp  McCalla,  the  main  body  of 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  55 

marine*  was  drawn  up  in  line  and  the  first  estab 
lishment  of  United  States  troops  on  Cuban  soil 
was  greeted  with  cheers  from  above  and  below, 
and  by  a  salute  from  the  little  fleet  lying  in  the 
roadstead.  Then  the  men  sang  and  ate  and 
frolicked  and  at  ten  o'clock  the  camp,  save  for 
the  sentries,  was  as  quiet  as  a  wood  in  winter. 

The  quiet  lasted  just  two  hours,  for  everybody 
agreed  that  it  was  midnight,  when,  instead  of  six 
hundred  sleeping  men  there  were  six  hundred 
swearing  marines  startled  into  half-wakefulness 
by  a  shot,  a  sentry's  challenge  and  then  a  crack 
ing  volley.  If  the  first  moment  was  one  of  half- 
wakefulness,  the  second  was  one  of  complete 
activity,  and  in  two  minutes  the  rifles  of  the 
marines  were  all  vigorously  replying  to  the  crack 
and  splutter  of  the  Spanish  Mausers  that  came, 
or  seemed  to  come  from  the  chaparral-covered 
slopes  to  the  east.  The  long  Mauser  bullets  were 
singing  over  the  marines'  heads,  but  no  one  was 
hit  and  as  the  hail  from  the  Lees  battered  the 
brush  which  concealed  the  Spaniards,  the  firing 
from  the  thicket  soon  lessened. 

It  did  not,  however,  cease  and  all  that  night 
Huntington's  men  were  kept  awake  and  on  the 
jump  by  single  shots  and  volleys  from  the 
guerrillas.  Neither  was  there  any  rest  for  the 
marines  during  daylight  on  Saturday.  The 


56  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

volley  firing  ceased,  it  is  true,  but  the  camp  was 
made  the  center  for  one  of  the  most  aggravating 
and  nerve-destroying  forms  of  attack  of  which 
it  is  possible  to  conceive. 

Untried,  absolutely  inexperienced  in  any  form 
of  land  fighting,  all  the  marines  had  to  fall  back 
on  was  the  discipline  of  drill  and  individual  grit. 
But  in  no  tactics  had  they  ever  come  across  any 
thing  that  met  the  exigencies  of  the  present  occa 
sion.  Nearly  all  town-bred,  conscious  that  at  all 
times  they  were  regarded  as  a  sort  of  marine 
police,  they  found  themselves  suddenly  called  on 
to  bear  the  brunt  of  an  attack  so  harassing  and 
unusual  that  to  meet  it  would  have  called  up  all 
the  experience  and  cunning  of  our  plain  and 
lava-bed  fighters.  Instead  of  fighting  the  Spanish 
troops  in  Cuba  the  Panther's  men  might  roally 
have  been  fighting  the  Sioux  in  the  Bad  Lands 
of  South  Dakota.  Like  the  half-blind  man  in  the 
Bible  they  saw  men  as  trees  walking,  for  the 
Spaniards,  stripping  themselves  to  the  buff  re- 
clothed  themselves  with  the  Adamic  garb  of 
leaves,  and,  gently  waving  palm  trees  over  their 
heads,  crept  stealthily  hero  and  there  until  a 
tongue  of  fire  and  a  singing  bullet  showed  that 
instead  of  a  piece  of  tropical  vegetation  it  was  a 
Spanish  sharp-shooter.  Not  only  were  the  Span 
iards  masked  but  they  were,  undoubtedly,  under 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  57 

the  very  prince  of  guerrilla  fighters;  one  who,  to 
the  cunning  of  the  Indian  added  the  cruelty  of 
the  Inquisitorial  Spaniard.  Silenced  at  one 
point,  the  bushwhackers  would  break  out  into 
furious  firing  from  another;  then,  when  all  the 
bush  seemed  to  have  been  battered  into  silence 
by  the  marines,  the  rifle  fire  would  blaze  out 
from  a  hundred  points  at  once. 

Although  under  this  scattering  but  persistent 
fire  from  the  Spaniards  all  day,  Huntington  kept 
his  men  at  work  strengthening  the  earthworks, 
digging  new  rifle  pits,  and  dragging  up  the  bat 
talion's  field-pieces  from  the  beach,  and  when 
Saturday  night  came  the  marines  were  ready 
enough  to  bless  their  commander  for  his  pre 
science  and  discipline.  Sleep  was  absolutely  out 
of  the  question.  All  through  the  night,  shadowy 
figures  could  be  dimly  seen  creeping  through  the 
edge  of  the  bush  that  rose  around  the  camp. 
There  was  the  constant,  tense,  singing  note  of 
the  Mauser  balls  following  the  sharp  pop  of  the 
Spanish  rifles;  the  humming  deeper  note  of  the 
Lee  bullets  following  the  louder  ring  of  the 
marines'  weapons;  while,  as  the  result  of  a  coun 
sel  between  Huntington,  Philip  and  McCalla,  the 
Texas  and  Marblehead  added  their  deeper  note 
to  the  serenade.  The  warships  swung  their 
searchlights  on  to  the  bush,  and  sent  in  their 


58  The  Fall  of  Santiago, 

launches  with  orders  to  let  fly  their  howitzers 
at  any  illuminated  spot  that  showed  a  Spaniard 
as  a  blot  in  its  cone  of  light. 

It  was  all  decidedly  picturesque,  but  neither 
the  searchlights  nor  the  howitzers  of  the 
launches,  nor  the  constant  blazing  of  the 
marines  at  anything  that  seemed  to  suspiciously 
move  in  the  undergrowth  brought  any  relief  to 
Camp  McCalla.  As  a  desperate  resort  a  detail 
of  men  was  sent  out  to  set  fire  to  the  jungle,  but 
this  proved  impossible  on  account  of  the  lush 
young  trees  which  formed  the  undergrowth. 
While  the  attempt  was  being  made  to  smoke  out 
the  guerrillas  from  the  nearest  slope,  the  Span 
iards  appeared  in  the  bush  across  the  lagoon  to 
the  east  of  the  camp.  They  were  driven  thence 
by  the  searchlights  of  the  Marblehead  and  the 
clever  drop  of  a  few  screeching  shells  only  to 
appear  in  a  ravine  on  the  east  side  near  the  bay 
shore.  And  so  it  went  on  all  night,  until  from 
want  of  sleep,  because  of  the  long  fight  with 
shadows,  and  from  a  night  of  noise  unspeakable 
the  men,  when  daylight  struck  them,  looked  as 
haggard  as  though  they  had  camped  for  a  fort 
night  in  a  stable  of  nightmares. 

There  had  been  men  killed,  too.  Not  many,  it 
is  true,  not  one  per  cent  of  what  would  have 
been  the  result  had  the  Spaniards'  aim  ap- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  59 

preached  in  accuracy  the  cleverness  of  their 
tactics.  Those  who  had  been  killed  and  wounded 
had  been  shot  down  almost  at  the  rifle's  muz 
zle,  and  so  horrible  were  the  effects  of  the  fierce 
wire  nails  of  the  Mausers  at  this  distance  that  it 
was  supposed  at  first  the  Spaniards  had  been 
guilty  of  unutterable  mutilations. 

For  the  first  time  our  surgeons  wrere  able  to 
make  a  close  study  of  what  a  Mauser  rifle-shot 
wound  was  like.  To  their  reports  the  curious 
student  of  the  horrors  of  modern  warfare  is  re 
ferred.  All  that  need  be  said  here  is  that  the 
dead  and  wounded  in  the  fighting  around  Guan- 
tanamo  bay  showed  that  the  Mauser  bullet  when 
received  at  close  range  makes  at  its  point  of  en 
trance  only  a  small  hole,  but  at  its  point  of  exit 
it  seems  to  take  everything  with  it.  In  size  the 
bullet  is  as  the  section  of  an  ordinary  lead  pencil 
one  and  a  half  inches  long.  It  is  nickel  covered, 
but  while  the  charges  of  mutilation,  which  Ad 
miral  Sampson  laid  against  the  Spaniards  when  he 
saw  the  dreadful  character  of  the  men's  wounds, 
were  withdrawn,  the  evidence  would  seem  to  show 
that  in  some  cases  the  nickel  points  of  the  bul 
lets  had  been  scraped  away.  The  result  was 
that  the  exposed  lead  mushroomed  on  its  impact 
and  when  to  this  spreading  quality  of  the  missile 
was  added  its  rotary  motion,  the  resulting 


60  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

wound,  as  may  be  imagined,  was  a  frightful  one. 
Those  killed  at  Guantanamo  and  struck  in  the 
head  would  have  been  scarcely  more  shattered 
had  they  stood  in  the  path  of  a  shell. 

The  marines  saw  these  things,  and  they  saw, 
too,  that  their  camp  on  the  bluff,  breezy  though 
it  might  be,  was,  on  account  of  the  thickly 
wooded  hills  around  it  and  its  own  bareness, 
little  more  than  a  target  for  the  Spanish  bush 
whackers.  Huntington  saw  this  also,  and  when 
Sunday  morning  came  he  decided  to  move  camp 
to  the  landing-place  on  Fisherman's  Point. 
McCalla  sent  sixty-five  Cuban  insurgents,  and 
Philip  added  a  squad  of  blue  jackets  and  two 
Colt  automatic  guns  to  assist  in  the  moving. 
Instead  of  being  a  day  of  rest  it  was  a  day  of 
din,  distress  and  desperation.  The  Spaniards 
swarmed  through  the  bushes  and  every  move 
made  by  the  marines  was  under  a  hot  fire.  In 
the  midst  of  it  those  who  had  been  killed,  in 
cluding  Assistant  Surgeon  Gibbs,  had  to  be 
buried,  but  the  same  spirit  that  prompted  the 
scraping  of  the  Mauser  bullet  and  the  shooting 
of  a  noncombatant  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Red  Cross  stood  out  ferociously  even  here. 

Graves  were  dug  in  the  red,  stony  soil  of  the 
bluff  to  the  north  of  the  camp  and  a  squad  of 
marines  was  sent  ashore  from  the  Texas  to  act  as 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  61 

funeral  escort,  Huntington's  marines  being  too 
busy  in  the  diverse  labors  of  moving  camp  and 
potting  the  Spanish  bushwhackers.  About  the 
time  the  little  procession,  headed  by  Chaplain 
Jones  of  the  Texas,  had  stumbled  over  the  rocky 
ground  to  the  improvised  graveyard,  the  firing 
from  the  bush  slackened  sufficiently  for  the  men 
of  Camp  McCalla  to  look  around.  They  saw 
this  little  procession,  and  laying  down  t'heir  Lees 
in  the  trenches,  stepped  over  and  fell  in  after  the 
Texas  men.  No  sooner  had  they  done  this  than 
the  skulking  Spaniards  turned  a  hot  fire  on  the 
funeral  party.  For  a  moment  or  two  chaplain, 
escort,  and  marines  paid  no  attention  to  the  fusil 
lade,  but  grouped  themselves  about  the  open 
graves,  the  chaplain,  it  is  true,  stepping  behind 
the  mounds  of  new  turned  earth,  but  without 
dropping  a  word  of  the  service.  The  sad  little 
ceremony  would  have  been  concluded  with  this 
attendance  had  ndt  the  Spaniards  crept  in  force 
up  to  the  nearest  clumps  of  bushes  from  which 
the  bullets  were  so  persistently  whistled  that 
chaplain,  mourners  and  corpses  alike  seemed  in 
danger  of  being  riddled. 

This  was  too  much  for  the  men  of  Camp 
McCalla,  and  with  a  cry  of  ''Fall  in,"  they 
rushed  for  their  rifles  in  the  trenches.  As  they 
broke  away  from  the  funeral  they  had  begun  the 


62  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 


n 


intoning  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  it  was  with 
out  ceasing  the  full-throated  intercession  that, 
throwing  themselves  flat,  they  pegged  fiercely 
away  at  the  hidden  and  pitiless  enemy.  The 
pump  of  the  Lee  bullets  was  as  rhythmical  as 
the  intoned  phrases.  It  was  a  prayer  punctuated 
with  gunshots,  and  was  only  another  instance  of 
the  Puritan  spirit — the  spirit  of  the  Bible  and 
sword  carried  hand  to  hand  into  battle — that 
marked  this  whole  campaign.  The  ships  in  the 
bay  sniffed  the  contest  from  afar  and  turned 
loose  their  shells  and  machine  guns,  and  it  was 
to  this  martial  accompaniment  that  the  dead  were 
buried,  Chaplain  Jones  committing  his  brethren 
to  the  ground  without  a  break  in  his  sonorous 
voice,  and  without  a  cringe  in  his  long,  thin 
form  as  he  stood  full  in  the  strong  sunlight. 

Although  the  camp  was  moved  to  the  beach, 
the  iutreuchments  on  the  hilltop  were  not  de 
serted.  The  American  flag  had  been  planted  on 
the  site  of  the  destroyed  blockhouse,  and  it  was 
not  to  be  taken  down  or  forsaken.  New  trenches 
were  dug  and  the  defending  guns  better  placed. 
Still  the  attacks  from  the  bush  were  maintained, 
varied  now  by  dashes  on  fche  beach  camp  from 
the  chaparral  growing  around  the  eastern  lagoon. 
More  men  were  killed  and  the  constant  drag  and 
strain  were  visibly  telling  on  the  marines.  It 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  63 

was  very  evident  that  something  had  to  be  done 
to  break  this  dreadful  monotony  of  fighting  hid 
den  foes.  A  retreat  was  out  of  the  question,  and 
so  it  was  decided  to  make  at  once  a  sortie  and  a 
round  up. 

How  strong  the  Spaniards  might  be  was  not 
known,  the  Cuban  scouts  bringing  in  estimates 
that  varied  from  two  hundred  to  two  thousand, 
but  it  was  known  that  constant  accessions  to  the 
army  of  bushwhackers  were  being  ferried  across 
the  bay  from  Caimanera,  and  that  unless  some 
bold  movement  were  made  the  first  American 
garrison  in  Cuba  stood  a  very  good  chance  of 
being  shot  out  of  existence  or  driven  into  the 
sea. 

Roughly  speaking,  the  Spaniards  held  the 
three  ranges  of  hills,  before  alluded  to,  and 
which  were  like  three  fingers  with  two  deep 
valleys  between,  like  the  hollows  between  the 
fingers.  On  the  first  ridge  stood  a  heliograph 
station ;  on  a  mound  commanding  the  first  and 
second  ridges  stood  a  blockhouse ;  and  between 
the  second  and  third  ridges  was  a  well,  or  water 
tank,  around  which  had  been  established  the 
guerrilla  headquarters.  All  three,  heliograph 
station,  blockhouse,  and  well,  were  to  be  the 
objects  of  attack,  for  it  was  argued  that  with  their 
signal  station,  their  stronghold,  and  their  water 


64:  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

supply  gone,  the  bushwhackers  would  find  them 
selves  deprived  of  their  three  mainstays. 

That  the  enterprise  might  prove  a  failure  never 
entered  the  heads  of  Huntington  and  his  officers. 
The  woods  had  to  be  purged  of  the  Spaniards. 
That  was  the  simple  programme. 

Early  on  Tuesday  morning,  June  14,  two  hun 
dred  and  eighty-nine  Americans,  and  forty-one 
Cubans  were  drawn  up  at  Fisherman's  Point 
ready  for  the  desperate  expedition.  The  men 
were  divided  into  four  companies.  Captains 
Elliott  and  Spicer  each  had  ninet}-  marines  and 
fifteen  Cubans  in  his  party.  Lieutenants 
Mahoney  and  In  gate  each  had  fifty  marines  in 
his  command,  Mahoney  having  ten  Cubans  and 
Ingate  one,  this  latter  to  act  as  guide.  The 
Ingate  party  can  be  very  briefly  disposed  of. 
Its  contemplated  share  in  the  operations  was  to 
skirt  the  first  range  of  hills  eastward  until  it 
came  to  the  lagoon  and  then  turn  northward, 
that  is  inland  way,  so  as  to  be  able  to  attack  the 
guerrilla  headquarters  from  the  flank  while  the 
other  parties  were  attacking  it  from  the  front. 
Long  before  the  flank  movement  could  be  exe 
cuted,  however,  Ingate  grew  suspicious  of  his 
Cuban  guide  and  turned  back.  Elliott  and 
Spicer  were  to  make  objective!}'  for  the  Spanish 
headquarters,  while  Mahoney 's  line  of  advance 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  65 

was  between  that  of  these  two  captains  and  that 
of  Ingate,  with  the  capture  of  the  heliograph 
station  and  blockhouse  as  a  preliminary  duty. 
The  Cubans  were  to  act  as  scouts  and  bush- 
beaters. 

The  marines  were  inspected  as  scrutinizingly  i 
as  though  they  were  to  parade;  the  Cubans 
hopped  spasmodically  about  without  any  sem 
blance  of  order  or  preparation.  The  marines 
were  clad  in  their  brown  uniforms,  as  speckless 
as  though  just  from  the  factory ;  the  Cubans  wore 
what  the  sailors  had  given  them,  what  rags  they 
had  owned,  or  nothing,  as  the  fancy  suited  them. 
The  faces  of  the  marines  were  drawn,  bronzed, 
rather  wistful  and  decidedly  determined ;  those 
of  the  Cubans  were  mostly  black  and  were  agleam 
with  satisfaction  and  pride  at  having  a  chance  to 
show  the  Americans  what  they  could  do  in  fight 
ing  the  Spanish. 

There  was  a  sharp  call  of  order  and  then  the 
lines  of  brown,  white  and  black  men  began  to 
climb  up  the  steep  tangled  sides  of  the  first  ridge. 
Mahoney's  men  were  first  at  work.  They  found 
the  heliograph  station  guarded  by  a  company  of 
Spaniards  and  there  was  immediately  the  song 
in  unison  of  Lee  and  Mauser.  The  Spaniards 
had  been  waiting  the  attack  while  the  marines 
had  been  toiling  through  the  tangle  of  woods 


66  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

under  a  broiling  sun,  but  \vhen  within  shooting 
range  our  men  went  to  work  at  once  as  steadily 
and  sturdily  as  though  they  had  been  the  waiting 
party.  Fifteen  minutes  of  this  brisk,  deadly 
work  and  the  Spaniards  fled  helter-skelter  down 
the  inland  slope  of  the  first  range,  where  they 
were  joined  by  the  fleeing  garrison  of  the  block 
house,  while  the  marines  knelt  along  the  ridge 
and  picked  off.  the  fleeing  men  as  they  ran  or 
dodged  from  bush  to  bush. 

Meanwhile  Elliott  and  Spicer's  men  to  the 
west  but  moving  northward  had  crossed  the 
first  ridge,  tramped  across  the  gully,  and 
climbed  to  the  top  of  the  second  ridge  under 
a  spattering  but  wild  fire  of  the  Spaniards  who 
were  stationed  here.  When  our  men  reached 
the  summit  of  the  second  ridge  the  sun  was  blaz 
ing  at  high  noon,  the  water  in  their  canteens  was 
a  sickly  warm  fluid  and  the  jungle  through  which 
the3r  had  come  was  so  full  of  thorny  cactus  and 
tearing  mesquite  that  each  step  wras  a  struggle. 
Yet  when  our  men  reached  this  crest  and  saw  the 
guerrilla  headquarters  in  the  valley  beneath,  a 
new  spirit  of  freshness  took  possession  of  them. 

Plainly  in  view,  in  the  valley  before  them  were 
the  huts  of  the  men,  the  officer's  quarters  and 
the  water  tank  which  they  had  set  out  to  destroy. 
The  marines  and  Cubans  had  scrambled  up  the 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  67 

ridge  on  which  they  now  stood  in  single  order 
and  as  best  they  might,  but  when  once  there  the 
hundred  and  eighty  marines  and  the  thirty 
Cubans  were  formed  in  line  along  the  crest,  with 
the  Cubans  on  the  left  flank  and  then  began  to 
slowly  work  their  way  down,  firing  as  they  went. 
The  long  brown  and  white  line  moved  steadily 
down  the  slope,  aiming  and  firing  as  it  moved, 
with  the  Spaniards'  bullets  whistling  viciously 
all  about  it.  The  guerrillas  fired  from  the  shelter 
of  the  huts  and  other  buildings  so  that  they  really 
had  the  advantage  of  an  intrenched  position,  but 
the  marines  never  wravered  in  their  advance. 

Now  they  were  at  the  base  of  the  hill  and  the 
order  was  given  to  fix  bayonets  and  charge  across 
the  gully.  The  gleam  and  click  of  the  bayonets 
were  too  much  for  the  Spaniards,  and  in  a  panic 
they  left  the  shelter  of  the  headquarters  and 
made  for  the  cover  of  the  brush-clad  slopes  of 
the  third  ridge.  Between  the  huts  and  brush, 
however,  there  was  a  clear  space  of  about  one 
hundred  yards,  and  as  the  Spaniards  galloped 
across  this  open  space  it  was  easy  shooting  for 
our  men.  Still  in  line  they  advanced,  pouring  a 
deadly  fire  into  the  guerrillas,  while  the  Cubans 
waved  their  machetes  and  sprang  forward  with  a 
howl.  Still  in  line,  the  brown-clad  marines 
made  straight  for  the  thickets  into  which  the 


68  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Spaniards  had  fled,  while  the  white  and  black 
clad  Cubans  ran  and  fired,  and  cursed  as  they 
ran.  Out  of  the  thickets  the  Spaniards  darted, 
and  as  they  darted  the  marines  shot  them  down. 
Up  the  slopes  the  Spaniards  climbed  and  strug 
gled,  while  the  marines  climbed  and  struggled 
after  them  and  fired  as  they  climbed.  Clear  to 
the  crest  the  Spaniards  were  driven,  and  then  to 
their  dismay  another  fighting  force  of  these  ter 
rible  Americans  was  met. 

After  capturing  the  heliograph  station  and 
blockhouse  Mahoney  and  his  men  had  skirted  the 
eastern  end  of  the  second  and  third  ridges  in  an 
ticipation  of  just  what  was  happening  so  that  when 
the  terror-stricken  Spaniards  started  to  scamper 
down  this  third  ridge  Mahoney 's  fifty  marines 
and  ten  Cubans  were  waiting  for  them.  Back 
the  Spaniards  ran  and  as  they  scrambled  onco 
more  on  to  the  crest  of  the  third  ridge,  still 
another  enemy  appeared.  Huntington  had  taken 
counsel  with  the  commander  of  the  Dolphin,  and 
that  gunboat  had  been  watching  all  the  morning 
for  just  this  opportunity.  With  their  glasses 
the  Dolphin's  officers  had  been  sweeping  the 
hills  for  a  good  chance  for  a  long  shot  and  when 
the  Spaniards  appeared  crowding  the  hilltop  they 
knew  they  had  that  chance.  Down  dropped  the 
shells  in  the  midst  of  the  dismayed  Spaniards 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  69 

and  again  they  rushed  to  the  hillside.  Again, 
Mahoney's  men  met  them  and  as  the  Spaniards 
turned  back  again  they  were  met  by  Captain 
Elliott's  marines  moving  steadily  up  the  slope 
and  by  the  fierce  assault  of  the  Cubans. 

Three  times  over  that  terrible  ridge  were  the 
Spanish  guerrillas  thus  driven.  With  two 
musketry  cross-fires,  the  assaults  of  the  Cubans 
and  the  bursting  of  the  shells  as  a  composite  hor 
ror,  the  Spaniards  finally  made  their  disordered 
way  down  the  further  side  of  the  last  ridge  and 
so  into  the  shelter  of  the  Guantanamo  lowlands. 
The  five  days  of  persistent  cruel  bush  attacks  had 
been  amply  revenged.  In  the  sortie  two  Cubans 
had  been  killed  and  one  of  our  marines  wounded, 
while  of  the  Spanish  some  one  hundred  killed 
and  wounded  lay  between  the  heliograph  station 
and  the  last  slope  of  the  third  ridge.  To  wind 
up  the  expedition  the  water  tank  and  headquar 
ters  were  destroyed,  the  blockhouse  razed,  eigh 
teen  prisoners  captured,  and  a  hundred  rifles  and 
a  thousand  rounds  of  ammunition  brought  back 
by  the  dripping,  wearied,  but  triumphant,  little 
army. 

It  was  not  a  very  great  affair,  but  barring  the 
funny  little  Gussie  expedition  it  was  the  first 
battle  on  Cuban  soil  between  American  and 
Spanish  forces.  Moreover,  it  was  a  fight  between 


70  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

unseasoned,  wearied  men,  fighting  their  way 
through  an  enemy's  .  country,  and  a  much 
superior  force  of  seasoned  veterans  holding  a 
strong  position.  The  odds  had  been  all  against 
us,  but  the  honors  were  all  ours.  From  Spanish 
sources  it  was  afterward  learned  that  the  de 
fenders  of  the  hills  included  at  least  two  com 
panies  of  picked  regulars  and  two  companies  of 
guerrillas,  numbering  in  all  four  hundred  and 
eighty  men.  The  actual  losses  on  the  Spanish 
sides  in  the  six  days  fighting  cannot  be  stated, 
but  they  were  approximately  one  hundred  and 
fifty  killed  and  wounded,  while  ours  were  five 
killed  and  fifteen  wounded. 

Having  driven  the  bushwhackers  off  the  ridges 
and  destroyed  their  rallying  center,  it  was  next 
decided  to  put  a  stop  to  the  constant  accession 
of  reinforcements  which  had  been  received  by 
the  bushwhackers  from  Guantanamo  by  way 
of  Caimanera.  Every  day  new  detachments 
of  Spanish  soldiers  had  been  brought  from 
the  city  by  railroad  to  the  fort  and  earthworks, 
and  these  it  was  decided  to  reduce.  Accordingly 
on  the  day  following  the  successful  sweep  of  the 
marines  over  the  hills,  the  Texas,  Marblehead  and 
Suwanee  sailed  into  Guantanamo  Bay,  and  from 
two  until  half-past  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
rained  shells  on  the  brickwork  and  intrench- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  71 

ments.  At  the  end  of  this  bombardment  the  fort 
was  a  brick  pile  and  the  trenches  were  little  more 
than  reddish-brown  dirt  heaps,  while  the  garri 
son,  or  such  as  was  left  of  it,  had  taken  train  to 
Guantanamo. 

The  infliction  of  these  two  blows  taught  the 
Spaniards  their  lesson,  and  from  that  time  on  the 
outer  bay  of  Guantanamo  and  the  hills  overlook 
ing  Fisherman's  Point  were  as  placid  and  un 
troubled  as  a  summer  resort.  A  varying  number 
of  colliers  lay  at  anchor  within  Fisherman's 
Point,  the  Panther  was  anchored  close  beside  the 
camp,  the  Solace  rode  in  the  smooth  sheltered 
waters  of  the  bay,  the  Marblehead,  as  flagship  of 
the  station,  steamed  here  and  there,  the  cable 
office  was  re-established  and  officially  known 
as  Pleya  del  Este,  vessels  from  the  block 
ading  squadron  came  and  went,  rowboats  and 
launches  moved  rapidly  about,  no  Spaniard 
was  to  be  seen,  and  that  which  was  the  theater 
of  a  seven-days'  continuous  performance  of 
unrest,  distress  and  bloodshed  became  so  peace 
ful  that  the  captured  Spaniard's  letter  dolefully 
describing  the  American  occupation  of  Guan 
tanamo  Bay  as  the  matter  of  fact  conversion  of 
the  place  into  "a  harbor  of  rest"  exactly  fitted 
the  transformation. 


72  The  Fall  of  Santiago, 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HOW  SHAFTER  LANDED  HIS  ARMY  AT  DAIQUIRI. 

WHEN  Huntington's  marines  were  landed  at 
Guantanamo  Bay  it  was  in  the  expectation  that 
the  army  of  investment  would  reach  Santiago 
almost  immediately  thereafter.  It  was  three 
weeks,  however,  before  the  transports,  with 
their  fifteen  thousand  and  odd  American  soldiers, 
were  sighted  by  the  blockading  fleet. 

Major-General  William  Eufus  Shafter,  in  com 
mand  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps,  had  been  selected 
to  lead  the  army  of  invasion,  and  Tampa  was 
chosen  as  the  point  of  debarkation.  As  has  been 
intimated,  the  dispatch  of  an  army  largely  com 
posed  of  unseasoned  men  is  a  task  that  might  try 
the  capabilities  of  a  quartermaster's  department 
accustomed  to  the  active  operations  at  home  and 
abroad  of  an  enormous  standing  army ;  but  when 
it  meant  the  sudden  call  upon  a  department  used 
only  to  the  gentle  and  easy  demands  of  a  tiny 
standing  army  accustomed  only  to  garrison  life 
and  police  duties  on  the  plains,  it  became  a  matter 
whose  exactions  can  scarcely  be  measured. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago,  73 

The  invading  army  consisted  of  the  following 
forces : 

INFANTRY — 

Officers 561 

Enlisted  men 10,709 

11,270 

CAVALRY  (Dismounted) — 

Officers 168 

Enlisted  men 3, 155 

3,323 

ARTILLERY— 

Officers 18 

Enlisted  men 455 

473 
ENGINEERS — 

Officers 9 

Enlisted  men 200 

209 

SIGNAL  CORPS 15 


15,290 
TOTAL  FIGHTING  MEN — 

Officers 747 

Enlisted  men „ 14,319 

15,066 

Fieldpieces 24 

Horses 578 

Mules 1,301 

For  three  weeks  things  at  Tampa  were  chaotic. 
The  water  supply  was  short;  machinery  broke 
down ;  siege  guns  had  to  be  carried  bodily  for 
miles;  embarkation  stages  had  to  be  built;  sup 
ply  trains  were  stalled;  mules  and  horses  that 
should  have  arrived  had  been  left  behind  in  some 
unknown  locality ;  troops  were  coming  in  from  a 


74  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

dozen  different  camps  in  a  dozen  different  stages 
of  unpreparedness — such  were  a  few  of  the 
tangles,  drawbacks  and  difficulties  which  had  to 
be  met,  unraveled,  and  conquered  before  the 
great  transport  fleet  could  get  on  her  way. 

Every  one,  from  Shafter  down,  was  in  a  fever 
ish  condition  of  fume  and  fret.  The  war  fury  of 
the  soldiers  was  rapidly  changing  into  one  of 
weariness  and  disgust,  while  the  foreign  repre 
sentatives  who  peered  everywhere  and  watched 
everything,  confided  to  their  respective  govern 
ments  that  the  army  of  invasion  was  an  armed 
mob  and  that  the  quartermaster's  department 
had  gone  to  pieces.  As  a  plain  matter  of  fact, 
the  work  done  in  the  way  of  licking  raw  material 
into  shape,  and  in  the  arming,  equipping,  and 
forwarding  of  Shafter's  army  compared  most 
favorably  with  anything  done  in  the  same  line 
by  nations  who  are  adepts  in  the  art  of  war.  It 
was  May  29  when  Schley's  dispatch  was  re 
ceived  saying  that  Cervera  was  in  Santiago  har 
bor,  and  it  was  on  the  14th  of  June  that  the 
army  for  Santiago  sailed  from  Tampa,  an  inter 
val  of  only  sixteen  days  in  which  inventive 
spirit,  Yankee  push,  and  the  indomitable  con 
quest  of  obstacles  had  done  all  that  could  have 
been  accomplished  by  the  practiced  military  ex 
perts  and  well-oiled  war  bureaus  of  Europe. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  75 

There  was  impatience  everywhere,  of  course ; 
in  the  press,  at  headquarters  in  Washington,  and 
with  the  blockading  fleet.  Every  day  the  lookouts 
off  Santiago  watched  for  the  smoke  of  the  trans 
port  armada  coming  around  Cape  Maysi,  and  as 
each  day  closed  with  the  report  that  there  was 
nothing  in  sight,  that  impatience  grew.  Upon 
Admiral  Sampson  devolved  not  only  the  duty  of 
preventing  the  escape  of  Cervera's  fleet,  but  also 
that  of  preventing  if  possible  the  junction  of  the 
various  divisions  of  the  Spanish  army  which  were 
known  to  be  scattered  up  and  down  the  eastern 
end  of  the  island  and  which  he  was  sure  would 
be  making  every  effort  to  effect  a  concentration 
in  Santiago  city.  Envoys  were  sent  to  General 
Calixto  Garcia,  asking  him  to  move  his  forces  of 
insurgents  down  to  the  southern  coast  so  as  to 
hold  if  possible  the  passes  leading  from  Man- 
zanillo  and  Holquin  through  which  the  various 
Spanish  garrisons  would  have  to  come.  To  this 
Garcia  replied  by  sending  General  Rabi  to  the 
north  of  Santiago  with  nine  hundred  men,  and 
six  hundred,  under  Castillo,  to  the  east  of  the 
city,  while  he,  Garcia,  established  his  headquar 
ters  at  Aceraderos,  fourteen  miles  west  of  Santi 
ago,  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  American  troops. 
As  further  and  useful  ways  of  passing  the  wait 
ing  time,  there  was  more  cable  cutting  and 


76  The  Fall  of  Santiago.   ' 

another  striking  attention  was  given  to  the  forts 
guarding  the  entrance  to  Santiago  harbor. 
There  were  several  small  exchanges  with  the 
forts,  but  the  only  two  of  consequence,  in  addi 
tion  to  that  which  they  received  at  the  hands  of 
Schlejr  soon  after  his  arrival,  were  the  bombard 
ments  of  the  forts  by  the  entire  blockading  fleet, 
which  took  place  on  the  6th  and  IGth  of  June. 

The  endeavors  to  reduce  the  harbor  fortifica 
tions  on  these  two  dates  wore  valuable  as 
lessons  and  practice,  but  so  far  as  the  reduction 
of  the  forts  went  they  were  practically  without 
result.  We  learned  again  at  Santiago  what  the 
allied  forces  had  learned  at  Sebastopol  and  Cron- 
stadt,  and  what  we  had  learned  at  Charleston. 
When  the  shells  fell  unpleasantly  near  the  gun 
ners  they  left  their  guns,  and  when  the  bombard 
ment  was  over  the  damages  were  repaired  and  the 
forts  and  batteries  were  in  as  good  fighting  trim 
as  before.  During  these  two  bombardments  our 
ships  expended  ammunition  to  the  value  of  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  killed  and  wounded 
less  than  three  hundred  Spaniards,  and  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  engagements  Morro  was  practi 
cally  unscathed  and  the  earthworks  practically  as 
good  as  ever. 

Nor  did  these  bombardments  result  in  drawing 
a  very  heavy  Spanish  fire,  the  return  from  all 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  77 

the  fortifications  being  extremely  small  and  de 
liberate.  Not  more  than  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
guns  in  place  was  used,  and  if  our  attacks  were 
practically  without  result  the  Spanish  reply  was 
absolutely  unproductive  of  harm. 

Neither  can  the  bombardment  by  the  dynamite 
cruiser  or  gunboat  Vesuvius  be  said  to  have 
effected  the  "tremendous  revolution  in  naval 
warfare"  which  some  people  expected  of  her. 
The  first  use  of  the  Vesuvius  was  on  Monday, 
June  13.  Commander  Pillsbury  had  been  beg 
ging  Sampson  ever  since  his  arrival  off  Santiago 
for  permission  to  try  his  three  pneumatic  tubes, 
and  on  Monday  night  he  gained  the  admiral's 
consent.  It  was  dark  as  a  pit's  mouth  all  about 
the  harbor  entrance,  and  under  cover  of  this 
blackness  the  Vesuvius  crept  up  to  within  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  and  fired  her  first  gun. 

The  term  is  used  only  as  a  colloquialism,  for  as 
one  of  description  it  is  entirely  inaccurate. 
When  the  Vesuvius  discharged  her  shell  there 
was  no  smoke,  no  flash  and,  in  place  of  an  explo 
sion,  a  peculiar  husky,  wheezing  sound,  as 
though — so  said  the  sailors  in  homely  but  ex 
pressive  phrase — some  gigantic  cow  had  been 
choked  with  an  enormous  turnip  and  were  trying 
to  cough  it  up.  But,  while  the  emission  and 
flight  of  the  projectile — a  contact  exploding 


78  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

shell  containing  two  hundred  pounds  of  gun 
cotton — were  noiseless,  the  landing  of  the  mis 
sile  was  thunderous.  Three  shells  at  this  time 
were  fired,  all  three  exploded  on  impact  and 
each  explosion  was  as  though  there  had  been 
some  convulsion  of  nature — not  so  much  a  deaf 
ening  sound  as  an  all-pervading  and  appalling 
concussion. 

Here  again,  while  it  was  proved  that  the  Vesu 
vius  could  successfully  discharge  her  gun-cotton 
shells,  that  these  shells  would  traverse  a  great 
distance,  that  impact  meant  detonation,  and  that 
detonation  meant  a  convulsion  of  the  country 
side — this  practically  limited  the  accomplish 
ment  of  her  bombardment.  It  was  found  after 
ward—and  following  other  bombardments — that 
where  the  shells  struck  they  changed  the  topog 
raphy  of  the  coast,  and  that  the  demoralizing 
effect  of  a  silently  emitted  shell  that  shook  the 
hills  and  plowed  up  the  valleys  when  it  struck 
home  was  very  great,  but  it  was  also  found  that 
the  fact  of  the  vessel's  being  her  own  gun-car 
riage  and  the  fixed  elevation  of  the  tubes  meant 
that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  aim  accurately 
at  a  fortified  eminence.  The  Vesuvius  where  her 
tubes  could  be  brought  to  bear  on  an  extended 
area,  well  in  range,  and  chiefly  within  the 
limited  parabola  of  her  shells'  flight,  would 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  79 

doubtless  be  a  tremendous  engine  of  destructive- 
ness,  but  the  fact  remains  that  she  did  not  tear 
up  a  single  fort  off  Santiago  nor  send  a  single 
gun  flying  into  space. 

Meanwhile  the  armada  of  invasion  was  being 
rushed  into  sailing  form,  and  at  last  the  final 
rendezvous  of  the  fleet  was  made  just  inside  the 
bar  at  the  mouth  of  Tampa  Bay  at  3 :50  P.M.  June 
14,  and  two  hours  later  it  got  under  way.  The 
mobilization  of  the  transport  fleet  had  been  ac 
complished  with  much  shuttle  work  between  the 
various  points  of  rendezvous,  but  when  it  had 
formed  into  fair  sailing  order  and  was  steaming 
across  the  waters  of  the  gulf  it  formed  a  naval 
pageant  whose  like  had  not  been  seen  since  the 
days  of  Philip  of  Spain  and  Drake. 

Stretching  over  twenty  miles  of  sea  and  mov 
ing  slowly  ahead  at  a  seven-knot  rate  the 
great  fleet  advanced  in  three  parallel  columns. 
In  number  they  were  forty;  in  formation  the 
transports  kept  in  triple  column,  preceded  and 
flanked  by  the  armed  convoys.  At  the  head  of 
the  central  column  of  transports  steamed  the 
Detroit  with  pennant  flying ;  while  to  the  right  of 
the  troop  ships  were  aligned  the  Indiana,  Anna 
polis,  Castine  and  Panther.  In  patrol  duty  the 
Bancroft  flitted  along  to  the  left ;  the  Hornet  and 
Scorpion  steamed  in  among  the  troop  ships  like 


80  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

marshals  at  a  parade  to  keep  the  procession  well 
in  order,  while  the  Helena  brought  up  the  rear. 
As  in  a  procession,  too,  sometimes  the  divisions 
would  become  ill  spaced.  Then  the  whole  parade 
would  halt  and  the  little  steaming,  puffing 
marshals  would  scurry  here  and  there,  driving 
the  laggard  into  place  or  keeping  back  too  restive 
a  member,  while  the  transport  steamers  marked 
time  by  rolling  and  pitching  in  the  short  run 
ning  seas.  All  around,  like  the  uneasy  boys  on 
the  street  flitted  the  press  dispatch  boats  and 
private  craft  attracted  by  the  novelty,  danger  and 
excitement  of  the  event. 

Guarded,  though  it  was,  by  warships  and 
moving  though  it  might  be  into  the  enemy's 
waters,  there  was  nothing  about  the  whole  fleet 
that  would  indicate  impending  fight.  It  was, 
rather,  the  ostentatious,  open  order  of  a  floating 
armament  devised  as  a  spectacle.  Far  as  the 
eye  could  reach  the  ships  spread  out  covering 
the  sea,  as  open  to  the  enemy's  view  as  though 
it  had  been  a  moving  continent.  The  guns  of 
the  great  pyramidical  Indiana  boomed  out  a 
salute  to  the  commanding  general,  the  Bancroft 
howled  orders  through  her  siren,  and  so  vast 
was  the  formation  that  had  an  enemy  attacked 
the  rear  the  Indiana  could  not  have  seen  it  even 
from  her  fighting  tops. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  81 

There  was  a  bright  sunshine,  sky  and  sea 
were  both  of  the  vividest  blue,  and  over  sky 
and  sea  both  there  rushed  white  flecks — these  of 
clouds,  those  of  foam.  The  decks  of  the  ships 
were  crowded  with  men ;  right  at  the  head  of  the 
middle  column  flew  a  dark-blue  flag  writh  its 
Maltese  cross  at  the  foremast  head  of  the  Sagur- 
anca,  the  headquarters  of  General  Shafter; 
orders  were  shouted  here  and  there  through  the 
megaphone;  the  hospital  ship  steamed  about 
like  a  doctor  on  his  visits  inquiring  the  health  of 
his  patients  in  reply  to  the  sick  signal,  and  so 
with  running  seas,  bright  skies  by  day  and 
lighted  ships  by  night  the  great  armada  moved 
majestically  along. 

On  Friday,  June  17,  those  on  the  transport 
fleet  caught  the  first  sight  of  the  Cuban  coast,  a 
white  lighthouse  on  the  outlying  key  of  Paredon 
Grande.  Then  on  Saturday  the  mainland  came 
into  view — hazy  hills  along  Cape  Lucretia; 
Sunday  morning  the  fleet  turned  into  the  "Wind 
ward  Passage ;  Cape  Maysi  was  rounded  at  night, 
and  early  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  June  21, 
the  seventh  day  of  the  fleet's  journey  from  Port 
Tampa,  the  great  broken  Sierras  that  lie  around 
Santiago  came  into  view. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  impatience  with  which 
the  arrival  of  the  transport  fleet  had  been  awaited, 


82  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

the  two  tugs,  Eesolute  and  Wompatuck,  were 
seen  by  the  lookout  men  on  board  the  Indiana 
steaming  about  Cape  Maysi  like  pilots  on  the 
lookout  for  a  patron,  and  another  evidence  was 
observed  when  these  same  lookout  men  saw  that 
as  soon  as  the  watching  tugs  caught  a  glimpse  of 
Shafter's  armada  they  scurried  away  with  the 
news  toward  Santiago.  Next  the  Detroit  caught 
the  infection  of  impatience,  and  when  the  fleet 
was  abreast  of  Guantauamo  she  put  on  full  steam 
and  raced  with  the  tugs  for  first  place  in  carry 
ing  the  news. 

As  the  great  sea  procession  moved  slowly  into 
view  of  the  blockading  fleet  the  waiting  sailors 
burst  into  a  mighty  cheer,  and  as  the  line  of 
massive  gray  hulks  was  seen  by  the  fighting  men 
on  board  the  transports  they  sent  back  the  cheer. 
And  so  it  went  on  in  a  majestic  and  inspiring 
antiphonal  of  hurrahs  that  must  have  crossed 
the  hills  and  reached  Santiago  itself.  The  flag 
ship  fired  a  salute  and  sent  the  Admiral's  launch 
to  welcome  Shafter,  while  with  signals  flying  the 
great  transport  fleet  wheeled  into  position  with 
every  ship's  bows  facing  Santiago. 

For  the  sailors  it  meant  that  something  was  to 
be  done  beside  swinging  up  and  down  in  the  oily 
waters  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  or  firing  shells  at 
ever  demolished  and  ever  repaired  earthworks; 


Copyright  by  Mail  ami  Express. 


The  first  landing  place  of  the  American 


Cuba — View  of  Daiquir. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  83 

while  to  the  soldiers  it  meant  something  more 
than  the  dreary  routine  of  camp  life,  the  vexa 
tion  of  contradictory  orders  and  the  cramped  life 
of  the  transports.  For  both,  it  meant  action 
and  war  at  last. 

Early  next  morning,  that  is,  on  Tuesday,  June 
21,  Shafter  and  Sampson  went  ashore  at  the  little 
landing-place  of  Aceraderos  to  meet  Garcia  and 
discuss  the  best  location  for  landing  the  troops. 
Garcia  was  in  favor  of  landing  there  and  advanc 
ing  on  Santiago  from  the  west,  and  Sampson  was 
inclined  to  agree  with  him,  but  Shafter,  who  had 
closely  inspected  the  coast  from  a  launch  the  day 
before,  and  who  had  studied  the  best  available 
maps,  decided  in  favor  of  Daiquiri,  fifteen  miles 
to  the  east  of  the  Santiago  harbor.  The  Gen 
eral's  two  chief  reasons  for  this  selection  were 
that  from  Daiquiri  could  be  gained  the  command 
of  a  great  plateau  directly  overlooking  Santiago 
and  that  the  cove  contained  a  railroad  wharf. 
Deference  was  naturally  paid  to  the  wish  of  the 
general  in  command,  and  the  conference  broke 
up  after  settling  the  plans  of  co-operation  on  the 
part  of  the  fleet  and  insurgents. 

Daiquiri  deserves  a  paragraph  to  itself.  At  it 
the  coast  range  of  Santiago  Province,  known  as 
the  Sierra  Cobre,  ends  in  a  great  peak  OT  mas 
sive  pile  of  rocks  called  La  Gran  Piedra,  which 


84  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

seems  to  rise  abruptly  from  the  sea.  It  does 
not,  however,  drop  sheer  into  the  sea,  but  puts 
out  a  number  of  rugged  spurs  which  have  been 
cleft  in  some  cataclysm  into  a  series  of  sharply 
cut  rocky  formations  separated  by  well-defined 
chasms  or  gullies.  To  some  poetic-souled  Span 
iard,  these  massive,  steep-sided  rock  masses  con 
veyed  the  impression  of  altars,  and  so  the  locality 
is  set  down  on  some  maps  as  Las  Altares.  Between 
the  beach  and  the  mountain  peak  stretches  a 
terrace  some  fifty  feet  above  the  water,  and  on 
this  terrace  had  been  built  a  little  settlement  of 
some  twenty  frame  houses,  owned  by  the  Span 
ish  American  Iron  Company,  largely  controlled 
by  the  Carnegie  Corporation  at  Pittsburg.  The 
company  had  been  formed  to  exploit  the  iron 
mines  which  lie  ten  miles  away  in  the  mountains 
overlooking  Santiago  harbor.  Between  the  mines 
and  the  landing-place  the  company  had  also  built 
a  railroad  which  at  Daiquiri  ended  in  a  trestle 
bridge  and  loading  chutes,  a  wharf,  a  machine 
shop,  and  roundhouse.  The  surf  thunders  cease 
lessly  in  on  all  the  coast  except  in  one  little  cove 
to  the  west  of  the  railroad  wharf,  and  through  this 
break  and  at  this  wharf  and  along  the  sparse 
stretches  of  coral  beach  it  was  that  the  landing 
took  place  on  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  June 
22. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  85 

Before  the  landing,  however,  the  blockading 
fleet  had  its  part  to  play.  That  part  was  a  dual 
one.  First  to  insure  as  nearly  as  possible  a  safe 
landing  for  the  troops,  and  secondly  to  confuse 
the  Spaniards  as  to  the  selected  place  of  landing. 
To  carry  out  the  second  part  of  this  programme 
the  Cubans  counterfeited  a  scene  of  great  prep 
aration  at  Aceraderos  and  decoy  transports 
sailed  into  Cabanas  Bay,  a  small  inlet  about  two 
miles  distant  from  the  entrance.  For  the  first 
part  of  the  programme  Sampson  treated  the  men 
on  the  transports  to  a  sight  which  they  will  never 
forget.  It  was  that  of  twenty  miles  of  bombard 
ment.  East  and  west  of  Santiago  harbor  the 
great  fleet  of  warships  stretched  along  the  shore, 
hurling  shells  at  Aguadores,  Cabanas,  Siboney, 
Juragua,  Daiquiri,  and  wherever  a  roundhouse 
was  noticed,  an  earthwork  seen,  or  a  blockhouse 
flag  distinguished. 

The  feature  of  this  twenty  miles  of  bombard 
ment  was  the  long  distance  duel  between  the 
Texas  and  the  Socapa  battery.  It  was  remark 
able  for  two  things.  First,  as  an  engagement 
between  a  single  battleship  and  a  shore  battery 
in  which  the  ship  shelled  the  fort  to  a  standstill, 
and  secondly,  as  furnishing  the  unusual  example 
of  a  Spanish  cannoneer  hitting  his  mark  and  kill 
ing  his  man.  The  engagement  grew  out  of  the 


86  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

feint  which  had  been  planned  for  Cabanas 
Bay. 

Ten  transports  had  been  ordered  to  make  a 
pretense  of  landing  troops  there,  and  the  Texas, 
Scorpion  and  Vixen  had  been  ordered  to  shell 
the  blockhouse  and  surrounding  hills  as  if 
covering  the  landing.  During  the  night  of 
June  21-22,  the  Texas  steamed  into  the  shadow 
of  the  Cabanas  mountains,  and  daylight  found 
her  there  waiting  for  the  transports.  At  seven 
o'clock  four  of  these  appeared  and  the  Texas,  to 
get  the  shore  range,  fired  a  half-dozen  rifle  shots. 
They  were  immediately  answered  by  a  gun  from 
high-perched  Socapa — a  shell  in  splendid  line 
whistling  over  the  mastheads  as  the  puff  of  white 
smoke  rose  above  the  fort.  The  range  was  found 
to  be  five  thousand  yards  and  the  accuracy  of 
the  Spanish  gunner  at  that  long  distance  was 
such  a  thorough  surprise  that  Captain  Philip 
decided  to  give  the  feint  a  larger  proportion  of 
actuality  than  had  been  intended. 

The  port  twelve-inch  turret  gun  was  trained 
on  Socapa,  and  as  its  report  shook  the  ship  a 
cloud  of  red  dust  was  seen  to  rise  over  the  Span 
ish  guns.  Forging  slowly  but  steadily  nearer, 
the  Texas  followed  this  first  shot  with  a  contin 
ued  and  well-aimed  fire  from  the  big  guns  of  her 
port  battery.  Hit  after  hit  was  counted,  but 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  87 

unfortunately  the  Texas  had  no  explosive  shells 
for  her  turret  guns  and  could  only  use  the  solid, 
armor-piercing  shot.  It  was  the  crushing  force 
of  the  impact,  therefore,  and  not  the  rending  of 
an  explosion  on  which  the  Texas  gunners  had  to 
rely  for  the  damage  done  and  which,  of  course, 
materially  limited  the  area  of  possible  injury. 
Each  shot  was  reported  to  Captain  Philip,  and 
aiming  instructions  given  from  the  bridge.  The 
Spanish  reply  was  fierce  and  the  most  accurate 
that  had  been  experienced.  Shells  from  the 
Socapa  guns  moaned  over  the  ship's  deck, 
splashed  the  water  about  her,  rattled  exploding 
fragments  all  over  her  sides  and  at  last  struck 
her  fairly.  The  Indiana,  Oregon,  Massachusetts, 
Iowa,  and  Brooklyn  were  all  lying  a  few  miles 
away  from  the  encounter,  but  none  thought  it 
worth  while  taking  a  hand  in  the  duel,  holding 
that  the  Texas  was  able  to  take  care  of  herself. 
And  so  it  proved,  the  battery  being  fought  to  a 
standstill  by  the  Texas  and  her  solid  shot  in  an 
hour  and  a  half. 

The  Spaniard's  shell  was  not  only  noteworthy 
as  killing  the  first  man  on  an  American  vessel 
during  the  Santiago  campaign,  but  as  furnish 
ing  a  valuable  example  of  the  apalling  force  and 
destructive  qualities  of  a  modern  projectile. 
The  shell  that  struck  the  Texas  was  six  inches 


88  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  * 

in  diameter,  was  of  steel  and  weighed  about 
seventy-five  pounds.  It  struck  the  ship's  side 
on  the  port  bow  about  five  feet  below  the  main 
deck  and  burst  in  the  forward  compartment  where 
there  were  six  6-po under  guns,  three  on  either 
side.  The  crews  of  all  these  guns  were  at  quar 
ters,  although  they  had  not  been  in  action,  and 
the  miracle  is  that  instead  of  only  one  man  killed 
and  eight  wounded,  the  entire  fifteen  were  not 
blown  into  fragments. 

At  the  point  of  impact  the  ship's  side  consisted 
of  steel  plates  one  and  a  quarter  inches  thick, 
the  shell  piercing  it  like  so  much  paper;  or 
rather,  like  so  much  parchment,  the  tough  metal 
being  folded  back  in  long  strips.  So  trifling  had 
been  the  resistance  of  the  steel  that  the  shell 
slipped  through  it  without  exploding,  and  would 
in  all  probability  have  passed  out  on  the  other 
side  unexploded  had  it  not  struck  a  metal  stan 
chion  amidships.  The  stanchion  was  shivered 
for  about  two  feet  of  its  length,  the  shell  burst, 
and,  while  many  fragments  flew  from  the  explo 
sion  as  a  common  center,  the  larger  mass  of  the 
broken  shell  flew  forward  against  the  starboard 
side  and  bulged  out  the  stout  steel  plates  until 
they  stood  as  a  ridge  on  the  ship's  side  three 
inches  high. 

Where  this  bulge  occurred  and  on  the  inside 


Copyright  by   Mail  and  Express. 


Debarkation  of"  Shatter' 


rmy  of  Invasion   at   Daiquiri. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  89 

of  the  ship  one  of  the  big  doubleheaded  angle 
irons  of  the  ship's  frame  was  situated.  It  was 
of  steel,  nearly  twice  as  thick  and  heavy  as  a  rail 
road  rail,  yet  two  feet  of  it  were  scooped  out 
and  carried  away  as  though  chipped  off  by  a 
cold  chiseL  The  base  of  the  shell  took  a  down 
ward  direction  after  cutting  through  the  stan 
chion,  plowed  a  great  furrow  through  the  steel 
deck,  hit  and  broke  a  steel  rib  of  the  ship,  broke 
itself  and  buried  its  pieces  down  through  four 
feet  of  hemp  hawser  wound  around  a  cable  reel 
which  stood  close  to  the  starboard  side  and  shiv 
ered  the  two-foot  prism  of  solid  oak  on  which 
the  hawser  was  wound.  By  the  explosion  of  the 
shell  and  the  fractures  made  by  coming  into  con 
tact  with  the  stanchion  and  ribs  the  shell  was 
resolved  into  a  flying  hail  of  steel  splinters 
which  swept  along  the  starboard  side  for  nearly 
thirty  feet,  cutting  off  bolt  heads,  breaking  gun- 
fittings  and  actually  planing  off  the  paint  from 
the  ship's  side  as  cleanly  as  though  it  had  been 
laboriously  done  by  hand.  The  fragmentary 
result  of  the  explosion  was  very  remarkable. 
The  pieces  of  steel  which  were  rained  every 
where  through  the  compartment  weighed  about 
an  ounce  each,  the  only  fragment  of  any  size 
being  rather  less  than  half  of  the  base  of  the 
shell  and  it  was  from  that  fragment  that  the  size 
of  the  projectile  was  learned. 


90  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

The  man  who  was  killed  was  directly  in  the 
path  of  the  shell  at  the  moment  of  its  explosion, 
aod  he  was  literally  blown  to  pieces,  although, 
strangely  enough,  the  comrade  to  whom  he  was 
talking,  and  who  stood  at  less  than  an  arm's 
length  away,  escaped  unhurt,  except  for  being 
knocked  down  by  the  force  of  the  explosion. 
Every  other  man  within  radius  of  the  flying  frag 
ments  was  wounded;  and  not  only  wounded,  but 
wounded,  so  to  speak,  profusely.  One  gunner 
was  hit  with  no  fewer  than  fifteen  pieces  of  steel, 
each  about  the  size  of  a  hazelnut,  while  other 
men  thirty  feet  away  from  the  line  of  shot  were 
found  to  have  a  dozen  pieces  or  more  of  shell  in 
their  bodies. 

Lastly,  as  an  example  of  the  destructive  force 
of  the  exploding  shell,  it  may  be  stated  that,  when 
it  burst,  the  gunpowder  smoke  was  forced  by  the 
concussion  down  the  ammunition  hoists,  and  into 
the  forward  compartments  of  the  ship  in  such 
volumes  that  for  a  few  minutes  the  crew  below 
were  almost  suffocated. 

This,  it  is  repeated,  was  the  first  time  that  our 
men  had  had  the  opportunity  to  observe  the 
havoc  caused  by  a  modern  steel  shell  filled  with 
high  explosives,  and  as  Captain  Philip  looked  at 
the  wrecked  compartment  and  the  dead  and 
wounded  he  was  heard  to  say : 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  91 


o 


"Well,  if  a  six-inch  shell  did  all  that,  what 
would  a  thirteen-incher  do?" 

Ever  since  the  arrival  of  the  blockading  fleet 
outside  Santiago,  General  Linares,  in  command 
of  the  Spanish  military  forces  of  Santiago  Prov 
ince,  had  prepared  for  what  he  knew  must  come. 
Every  possible  landing-place  had  been  fortified, 
and  naturally  in  this  series  of  defenses  Daiquiri 
had  not  escaped  attention.  Indeed,  Daiquiri 
had  been  especially  looked  after,  up  to  a  certain 
point.  When  our  troops  landed  there  they  found 
what  was  really  a  magnificent  system  of  defense, 
earthworks,  trenches,  pits,  breastworks,  every 
thing  indeed,  except  the  one  essential — that  of 
artillery.  When  the  bombardment  began  there 
were  five  hundred  Spaniards  in  charge  of  these  in- 
trenchments,  but  when  the  Helena,  Hornet  and 
Bancroft  tore  great  gashes  in  the  scrub  and  brush 
of  the  hillsides  with  their  shells ;  dropped  a  few 
6-inch  explosives  among  the  earthworks;  filled 
up  the  rifle  pits  with  fountains  of  gravel  and 
dust  and  even  demolished  the  blockhouse  on  top 
of  the  La  Gran  Piedra,  the  garrison  concluded 
that  any  attempt  to  keep  out  the  American  army 
of  invasion  would  be  somewhat  futile. 

Steaming  down  in  full  view  of  this  theatric  act 
of  war  the  transports  formed  outside  Daiquiri, 
while  the  signal  went  upon  the  Saguaranca, 


92  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

"Everybody  get  ashore. "  Instantly  the  flotilla 
of  whaleboats,  gigs,  barges,  and  launches  which 
had  hung  around  the  transports  got  into  motion. 
The  troopers  rushed  down  the  gangway,  clam 
bered  over  the  side  ladders,  pushed  their  way 
into  the  boats,  a  laughing,  cheering,  jostling 
crowd,  and  loaded  the  boat  to  the  gunwales  in 
their  eagerness  to  get  ashore.  As  the  first  boat, 
in  tow  of  the  steam  launches,  started  from  the 
fleet  a  few  Spaniards  who  had  taken  refuge  be 
hind  the  blockhouse,  ran  out  and  began  firing 
at  the  loaded  boats.  As  they  did  so  a  thousand 
Cubans  who  had  been  brought  down  during  the 
night  from  Aceraderos  under  charge  of  General 
Castillo,  burst  from  the  woods  as  if  by  magic 
and  began  firing  on  the  Spaniards.  These  broke 
and  ran  for  cover  into  the  western  woods,  while 
the  New  Orleans  and  Detroit  steamed  along  shore 
and  hastened  their  departure  with  a  few  shells. 

All  day  long  the  landing  went  on.  Quietly 
cruising  here  and  there  like  great  sentries  on 
patrol  were  the  vessels  of  war;  in  uneven  ranks 
the  transports  rolled  in  the  short  running  waves ; 
and  between  these  and  the  shore  there  was  a  con 
stant  procession  of  laden-going  and  empty-re 
turning  boats  and  puffing  launches.  All  around 
on  the  shore  side  of  the  view  stretched  the  open 
crescent  of  hills,  wooded  from  verge  to  summit. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  93 

On  the  closer  hills  could  be  seen  the  long  shaggy 
leaves  of  the  palms,  the  towering  cocoanut  trees 
lifting  their  fronded  heads  above  the  lower 
woods;  as  a  background,  a  purple  peak  four 
thousand  feet  high;  as  a  foreground,  beetling 
cliffs  and  wooded  glades;  and  as  sounds,  the 
cheery  cry  of  American  voices,  the  unending  call 
of  the  chafing  sea  and  the  wild  vivas  of  Castillo's 
men  as  they  trooped  down  to  the  landing-place 
to  welcome  the  first  of  the  armies  of  liberation 
after  having  disposed  of  the  Spaniards  in  the 
woods. 

There  had  been  delay,  disappointment  and 
drag  in  the  collection  and  shipping  of  Shafter's 
army,  there  was  none  in  its  debarkation.  When 
night  came  about  twrenty  small  boats  had  been 
smashed  at  the  landing-wharf  by  the  surf,  two 
colored  troopers  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry  had  been 
drowned  from  an  overturned  boat,  a  few  horses 
and  mules  had  been  drowned  while  trying  to 
swim  ashore,  but  otherwise  ten  thousand  troops 
had  landed  on  an  enemy's  country  without  mis 
hap  and  with  a  celerity  and  order  that  will 
always  stand  as  a  precedent  in  the  science  of 
campaigning. 

Next  day,  in  order  to  further  expedite  the 
landing,  those  transports  having  artillery  and 
the  balance  of  supplies  were  sent  to  Siboney 


94  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Cove,  five  miles  westward.  Wednesday  night 
saw  the  camp  fires  sparkling  all  over  the  valley 
and  beach  around  Daiquiri ;  and  Thursday  night 
found  the  men  who  had  lit  these  camp  fires  a 
long  line  of  marching  men  with  its  advance  mak 
ing  for  Santiago,  and  other  camp  fires  sparkling 
all  over  the  valley  and  beach  around  picturesque, 
but  ill-starred  Siboney. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  95 


CHAPTER  V. 

HOW  THE  ROUGH  RIDERS  FOUGHT  AT  LA  GUASIMA. 

BROADLY  speaking,  Shafter's  plan  of  campaign 
was  to  push  his  men  forward  as  rapidly  as  possi 
ble  after  landing,  to  drive  the  enemy  back  to 
ward  Santiago,  and  not  to  stop  in  his  march  on 
to  Santiago  until  he  occupied  the  plateau  and 
heights  which  immediately  looked  down  on  and 
commanded  the  city.  He  knew  from  the  Cuban 
scouts  that  between  that  point  of  vantage  and 
Daiquiri  the  Spanish  lay  in  strength;  and  he 
knew  from  what  he  had  seen  from  shipboard  and 
the  inspection  of  maps  that  between  Santiago 
and  Daiquiri  lay  fifteen  miles  of  the  roughest 
country  and  dense  tropical  jungle.  Roads,  how 
ever,  that  were  down  on  the  map  in  large  invit 
ing  lines  turned  out,  on  actual  inspection,  to  be 
but  bridle  paths  which  became  mud  streams  after 
each  downpour,  while  the  transportation  of  artil 
lery  to  the  front  would  mean  a  gigantic  task  for 
the  engineers  whose  complete  fulfillment  would 
take  a  far  longer  time  than  he  in  his  impatience 


96  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

was  willing  to  consider.  But  some  semblance  of 
work  on  the  roads  was  an  actual  necessity,  and 
in  order  to  cover  this  preparatory  work  and  to 
clear  the  territory  immediately  surrounding  the 
landing,  General  Shafter  deemed  it  essential  to 
occupy  Siboney,  a  village  occupying  a  command 
ing  position  eleven  miles  up  the  coast  from 
Daiquiri  and  eight  across  country  from  Santiago. 

Not  waiting,  therefore,  for  the  cavalry  horses, 
siege  artillery  and  balance  of  the  troops,  Shafter, 
in  pursuance  of  his  impetuous  plans,  sent  forward 
General  Joseph  Wheeler  with  nine  hundred  and 
sixty-four  men  from  his  cavalry  division,  made 
up  of  eight  troops  of  Colonel  Wood's  regiment 
(the  Rough  Eiders),  numbering  five  hundred; 
four  troops  of  the  First  Regular  Cavalry,  num 
bering  two  hundred  and  forty-four  men;  and 
four  troops  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry  (colored),  num 
bering  two  hundred  and  twenty,  all  dismounted. 
The  Rough  Riders  had  pleaded  for  advance  duty 
and  Shafter  obliged  them. 

These  Rough  Riders  furnished  the  picturesque 
element  of  the  army.  At  the  very  outbreak  of 
hostilities,  and  indeed  before  the  actual  declara 
tion  of  war,  there  were  vague  rumors  in  the 
newspapers  of  the  contemplated  formation  of  a 
cavalry  regiment  for  the  Cuban  campaign  that 
should  be  something  conjointly  approaching  a 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  97 

Buffalo  Bill  show,  a  round-up  of  Western  cowboys 
and  a  congregation  of  cross-country  huntsmen. 
The  credit  for  the  initiative  of  the  idea  lies  in 
amiable  dispute  between  General  Miles  and  Theo 
dore  Roosevelt,  but  from  the  very  first  the  name 
of  Roosevelt  was  more  intimately  associated  in  the 
public  mind  with  the  idea  than  that  of  any  one 
else. 

"When  war  broke  out  he  was  Assistant  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy,  but  immediately  following 
on  McKinley's  proclamation  he  resigned  and  was 
by  the  president  named  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  of 
the  First  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry,  of 
which  Captain  Leonard  Wood,  assistant  surgeon 
in  the  regular  army,  was  appointed  Colonel.  The 
work  of  organization  was  immediately  begun  by 
Colonel  Wood  and  aides,  who  chose  the  Western 
States  as  the  best  recruiting  ground  from  which 
to  select  their  men.  Dr.  Wood,  as  he  was  general 
ly  known,  was  admirably  adapted  for  this  recruit 
ing  work,  having  had  a  long  experience  in  West 
ern  army  life.  Truth  to  tell,  there  was  little 
need  of  recruiting,  for  with  the  first  intimation 
that  the  regiment  was  to  be  an  accomplished 
fact,  the  War  Department  was  swamped  with 
appeals  for  information  as  to  points  at  which 
enlistments  might  be  made. 

Every  man  in  the  country  who  could  ride  a 


98  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

horse,  or  who  had  an  inclination  to  do  so,  ap 
peared  to  imagine  that  he  was  the  man  of  all  men 
who  should  be  a  trooper.  Colonel  Wood  was, 
however,  determined  that  his  regiment  should 
only  contain  the  very  best  of  horsemen  and 
fighting  material.  The  line  was  drawn  rigor 
ously  at  toughs  and  incapables.  Every  man  was 
a  picked  man  and  when  the  regiment  was  finally 
declared  to  be  completed  at  San  Antonio,  Texas, 
it  proved  to  be  an  aggregation  of  extremes, 
record  and  experience  that  was  unique  in  mili 
tary  history.  The  members  ranged  from  cotil 
lion  leader  to  bronco  buster,  from  society  roy- 
sterer  to  policeman,  from  dead-shot  cowboy  to 
champion  golfer,  from  a  record-making  college 
runner  to  a  steer  brander  of  Skull  Valley,  from  a 
champion  football  player  of  the  East  to  a  bear 
hunter  of  the  West.  Dancers,  polo  players, 
good  fellows,  old  soldiers,  bad  men,  firemen — 
the  wildest  congregation  of  dudes  and  dare 
devils  surely  that  was  ever  brought  together.  A 
few  of  the  names  and  a  word  of  those  who  bore 
them  should  find  a  place  here. 

"Dead  Shot  Jim"  Simpson,  from  Albuquerque, 
N.  M.,  could  put  a  rifle  ball  through  a  jack 
rabbit's  eyes  while  riding  a  wild  horse  a  thou 
sand  yards  off.  Woodbury  Kane,  a  cousin  of 
John  Jacob  Astor,  was  equally  at  home  as  a  polo 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  99 

player  and  a  yachtsman.  "Lariat  Ned"  Per 
kins,  from  Trinidad,  Col.,  had  the  reputation  of 
being  able  to  make  his  twisted  rope  as  deadly 
as  a  rifle.  Willie  Tiffany,  of  New  York,  was 
a  cousin  of  the  Belmonts,  the  nephew  of  Com 
modore  Perry  and  an  authority  on  fine  raiment. 
"Rocky  Mountain  Bill"  Jenkins  was  a  mighty 
hunter  of  the  grizzly  and  was,  literally,  always 
loaded  for  bear.  Hamilton  Fish,  Jr.,  of  New 
York,  was  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of 
famous  men  and  had  established  a  reputation  in 
which  energy  and  animal  spirits  were  only 
equaled  b3*  good  fellowship  and  lovable  disposi 
tion.  "Bronco  George"  Brown,  of  Arizona, 
had  killed  his  five  men,  but  they  all  went  down  for 
cattle  stealing,  for  cheating  at  cards,  or  for  im 
pudence  to  women.  Reggie  Reynolds,  son  of 
Mrs.  Lorillard  B.  Reynolds,  was  quarterback  on 
a  Yale  team  and  a  handshaking  acquaintance  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  "Fighting  Bob"  Wilson, 
of  WTyoming,  was  the  terror  of  the  rustlers  on  his 
range.  I.  Townsend  Burden,  Jr.,  was  the  son  of 
a  great  millionaire  of  New  York  City,  and  proud 
of  his  record  on  the  football  field. 

And  so,  with  much  dust  and  jingle  of  spurs, 
the  plainsmen  and  mountaineers  of  the  West 
came  trooping  into  San  Antonio;  with  valets, 
bathtubs,  and  dress-suit  cases,  the  dudes  and 


100  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

brokers  of  the  East  rolled  into  town  in  parlor 
cars;  with  the  outfits  of  the  fop,  the  handbag  of 
the  hardy  experienced  man,  and  with  no  kits  at 
all,  save  the  things  on  his  back  and  the  beast 
he  bestrode,  the  Rough  Riders  gathered  together. 

But  when  once  together  every  division  of  class 
and  belonging  was  swept  away.  There  was  com 
radeship  from  the  start,  for  each  man  was  a 
United  States  trooper,  sworn  to  serve  his  coun 
try  and  to  fight  for  it  at  thirteen  dollars  a  month 
with  rations  and  uniform.  The  uniform,  by  the 
bye,  was  as  picturesque  as  the  men.  Made  of 
gray  grass  cloth,  cool  and  light  of  texture,  with 
pipings  and  facings  of  blue,  with  a,  sombrero 
turned  up  and  fastened  at  the  side  with  a  rosette, 
armed  with  a  Krag-Jorgensen  carbine,  two  revol 
vers  and  a  machete,  the  Rough  Riders  presented 
a  decidedly  dashing  and  warlike  appearance. 
In  their  camp  life  they  settled  down  to  hard 
work  with  an  energy,  obedience  and  good  will 
that  were  glorious.  Much  of  this  hard  work  was 
given  to  the  breaking  and  drilling  of  the  horses, 
yet  by  one  of  the  ironical  strokes  of  fate  the  first 
time  the  Rough  Riders  went  into  battle  they 
went  afoot. 

Such  were  the  Rough  Riders,  who  with  the 
First  Regulars,  a  regiment  noted  in  every  army 
post  for  its  steady  valor,  and  the  Tenth  troopers, 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  101 

with  their  Western  reputation  as  always  wanting 
to  fight  and  always  fighting  as  devils  when  that 
want  was  gratified,  at  daybreak  of  June  23, 
marched  out  of  Daiquiri  on  the  road  to  Siboney, 
accompanied  by  a  body  of  Cuban  scouts.  The 
first  halt  was  made  at  the  little  village  of  Dema- 
jayabo,  and  for  these  and  all  other  names  to  be 
mentioned  reference  had  better  be  had  to  the 
accompanying  map. 

That  march  was  a  trial  to  the  souls  and  condi 
tion  of  the  men.  They  had  heard  of  the  Cuban 
forests  and  the  Cuban  heat,  but  the  most  vivid 
imagination  had  pictured  nothing  approaching 
the  reality.  The  road  was  a  mule  path  and  not 
always  an  ordinarily  good  mule  path  at  that. 
Where  it  did  not  pass  through  swamps  of  malo 
dorous  mud  it  was  a  winding  lane  of  irony-red 
earth,  which  rose  in  clouds  of  dust  as  the  men 
tramped  on,  filled  their  eyes  and  noses,  was  plas 
tered  on  their  streaming  faces,  and  found  its  way 
even  between  the  flaps  of  the  buttoned  gaiters. 
On  each  side  of  the  path  rose  the  thick  steamy 
jungle,  so  profuse  in  its  vegetation  that  its  en 
tangling  vines  and  piercing  thorns  stretched 
across  it  almost  at  every  step.  Sometimes  there 
were  breaks  in  the  chaparral,  but  on  these  open 
spaces  the  sun  beat  down  with  uninterrupted 
fervor,  so  that  it  was  not  a  relief  but  rather  a 


102  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

choice  of  evils  between  the  blazing  experience  of 
the  bare  spots  and  the  boiling  experience  of  the 
woods.  As  was  the  case  at  the  fight  over  the 
hills  at  Guantanamo,  the  men  started  in  heavy 
accoutrements,  in  full  marching  order,  but  as 
the  day  grew  and  the  heat  with  it,  the  men 
threw  away  not  only  their  blanket  rolls  and  pro 
vision  haversacks  but  even  their  clothing,  until 
the  path  side  looked  as  though  it  had  been 
traversed  rather  by  an  army  in  retreat  than  by 
one  in  advance. 

Juragua  waa  reached  at  night  without  the 
faintest  opposition  from  the  Spaniards,  the  Cuban 
scouts  bringing  in  information  that  the  enemy 
which  had  been  in  some  force  at  Siboney  had 
fallen  back  on  the  Sevilla  road  and  had  halted 
and  intrenched  themselves  at  a  small  settlement 
named  La  Guasima,  some  three  or  four  miles  be 
yond  Siboney.  Many  of  the  men  had  fallen 
from  exhaustion,  and  the  detachment  of  Rough 
Riders,  which  had  been  in  charge  of  the  dyna 
mite  gun,  with  which  it  was  expected  to  do  great 
things,  had  insisted  on  bringing  this  weapon 
with  them,  so  that  it  was  long  after  dusk  when 
the  last  stragglers  were  brought  in  by  the  rear 
guard.  General  Castillo,  who  was  in  command 
of  the  Cuban  scouts,  made  out  a  rough  map  of 
La  Guasima  for  General  Wheeler  and  it  was  de- 


Gen.   "Joe"  Wheeler. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  103 

cided  to  continue  the  march  beyond  Siboney  at 
daybreak  of  the  24th  and  attack  the  Spanish 
position. 

There  were  two  roads  leading  to  La  Guasima, 
and  it  was  decided  to  divide  the  American  forces 
so  as  to  attack  the  Spaniards  from  two  quarters. 
Colonel  Wood's  regiment  was  sent  to  approach 
the  enemy  on  the  left  hand  or  mountain  road, 
while  Wheeler  and  Young,  with  the  First  and 
Tenth,  and  three  Hotchkiss  mountain  guns,  were 
to  attack  the  enemy  on  the  main  or  valley  road. 
Young's  command  had  somewhat  the  shorter 
road  and  they  started  by  throwing  out  a  strong 
scouting  line  in  order  to  give  Wood's  men  a 
chance  to  work  round  to  the  left.  The  troopers, 
as  they  lay  at  Juragua,  had  heard  the  Spaniards 
felling  the  trees  before  daybreak  and  judged  that 
they  were  throwing  up  barricades,  but  on  ac 
count  of  the  echoing  hills  could  not  exactly 
locate  the  spot  from  which  the  sounds  came. 
With  the  general  locality  of  the  Spaniards  and 
the  character  of  their  position  and  their  strength 
General  W7heeler  was,  however,  measurably  well 
informed,  as  his  plan  of  battle  indicates. 

In  the  first  confused  reports  of  what  follows 
the  belief  was  entertained  that  the  Eough  Riders 
had  fallen  into  an  ambuscade,  but  except  inso 
much  as  nearly  all  the  Spanish  fighting  was  done 


104  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

from  the  ambush  of  protecting  timber,  dense 
screens  of  foliage  and  well-hidden  rifle  pits,  the 
fight  at  La  Guasima  scarcely  possessed  any 
greater  share  of  an  attack  from  ambush  than  did 
the  battles  of  San  Juan  and  El  Caney.  No 
clearer  refutation  of  the  ambush  story  is  needed 
than  the  fact  that  on  the  night  before  the  battle 
General  Young  sent  for  Colonel  Wood  and  said 
to  him : 

''Colonel,  Castillo's  scouts  tell  me  that  the 
Spaniards  have  taken  a  very  strong  position  near 
the  junction  of  the  trail  over  the  mountain  to 
Sevilla  and  the  valley  road.  It  is  evidently  their 
belief  that  they  can  stop  or  drive  us  back  if  we 
try  to  advance,  but  I  think  the  brigade  can  fight 
and  win  the  first  battle  of  the  war  to-morrow 
morning." 

Althought  last  to  start,  the  First  and  Tenth 
Cavalry  men  were  the  first  to  open  the  action. 
The  road  over  which  they  went  cheerily  along 
was  moderately  good,  and  the  men  being  used 
to  hot  weather  marching  made  good  progress. 
When  they  rose  from  the  valley  on  to  one  of  the 
foothills  which  rose  in  chaotic  prodigality  all 
about  they  discovered  the  enemy,  hurried  a 
Hotchkiss  gun  to  the  crest  and  began  blazing 
away. 

Eight  across  a  narrow  valley  which  lay  in  front 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  105 


o 


of  them  rose  another  hill,  and  on  it  they  plainly 
distinguished  the  Spanish  position.  The  main 
body  of  the  Spaniards  was  posted  around  two 
blockhouses  near  the  summit,  flanked  by  irreg 
ular  intrenchments  of  stone  and  trees.  These 
intrenchments  were  in  the  shape  of  a  broad  V  or 
horseshoe,  the  point  of  which  was  toward  the 
trail  and  road  where  they  came  together  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill.  In  this  position  they  were  en 
abled  to  offer  a  triple  fire  against  any  advancing 
force.  Between  the  intrenchments  and  the  trails 
was  a  dense  thicket,  and  as  it  proved  afterward, 
this  thicket  was  alive  with  sharpshooters  and 
guerrillas.  The  main  body  of  the  regulars  was 
streaming  up  the  valley  road  after  the  advance 
men  with  their  Hotchkiss,  but  the  Rough  Eiders 
could  not  be  seen  owing  to  the  broken  nature  of 
the  country  and  its  densely  wooded  character. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were,  at  that  time, 
pushing  along  the  trail  which  led  over  the  crest 
of  a  hill  much  similar  in  elevation  and  character 
to  that  occupied  by  the  regulars.  If  this  de 
scription  is  at  all  clear  it  will  be  seen,  therefore, 
that  in  the  confusion  of  hills  there  were  three 
that  were  distinct  points  of  interest.  To  the 
right  that  occupied  by  the  Regulars,  to  the  left 
that  over  which  the  Rough  Riders  were  climbing 
and,  between  these  two  flanking  elevations,  the 


106  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

central  hill  on  "which  the  Spaniards  were 
posted. 

The  distance  between  the  two  hills  occupied 
by  our  men  was  about  half  a  mile.  The  Hotch- 
kiss  pieces  began  the  fight  at  seven-thirty, 
and  in  reply  to  the  first  rattling  sweep  of  the 
machine  guns  the  whole  front  of  the  hill  facing 
them  burst  into  volleys  from  the  Spanish  Mau 
sers.  The  troopers  were  instantly  ordered  to  lie 
down  in  the  road  along  which  they  were  strung, 
General  Young's  command  being  ' 'Don't  shoot 
until  you  see  something  to  shoot  at/'  which  he 
yelled  to  his  men  as  stripped  to  the  waist  they 
crawled  and  squirmed  into  some  position  from 
which  they  could  get  a  chance  to  see  their 
enemies.  Almost  immediately  thereafter  came 
the  crack  of  the  Krag-Jorgensens  from  Colonel 
"Wood's  men  and  the  engagement  was  on. 

Meanwhile,  the  Rough  Riders  had  pushed  their 
way  over  the  cactus-lined  mountain  trail.  They 
had  marched  two  miles  when  they  came  across 
the  body  of  a  dead  Cuban  and  this  evidence  of 
the  Spanish  whereabouts  was  sufficient  to  admon 
ish  the  men  that  an  especially  sharp  lookout  was 
necessary.  The  dead  scout  was  found  by  the 
skirmishers  of  Troop  L,  which  was  under  com 
mand  of  Captain  Allyn  K.  Capron.  He  imme 
diately  deployed  his  men  and  sent  back  word  to 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  107 

Colonel  Wood  of  his  discovery.  The  regiment 
was  hurried  up,  but  before  it  could  be  well  de 
ployed  the  whole  line  of  thickets  to  their  front 
and  right  broke  out  with  the  sharp,  sibillant  sing 
of  the  Spanish  rifles.  As  at  Guantanamo  the 
Spaniards  fired  in  such  rapid  volleys  by  holding 
the  rifle  at  the  hip  and  pumping  the  shots  out 
with  the  quick  fanning  of  the  right  hand  on  the 
lever  bar  that  the  discharges  actualty  sounded 
as  though  they  were  from  machine  guns. 

Word  was  passed  along  the  American  line  to 
fire  right  and  left  and  in  front,  and  for  an  hour 
and  a  half  this  fight  of  gunnery  continued.  Ow 
ing  to  the  facts  that  the  Spanish  were  so  com 
pletely  under  cover  and  that  they  used  smokeless 
powder  it  was  almost  impossible  to  direct  any 
answering  fire  that  might  be  effective,  but  by 
careful  watching  a  Spanish  head  was  seen  here 
or  there  or  some  sharpshooter  was  seen  slipping 
from  cover  to  cover,  and  wherever  either  head  or 
sharpshooter  was  seen  an  American  bullet  was 
sure  to  find  its  mark. 

In  the  first  blaze  of  the  Mausers'  Hamilton 
Fish  was  killed.  He  was  in  the  advance  as  the 
head  of  the  skirmishers  turned  the  crest  of  the 
hill  and  though  the  order  to  take  cover  was  im 
mediate,  the  commanding  position  of  the  Spanish 
riflemen  was  such  that  they  could  send  a  drop- 


108  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

ping  fire  into  the  men  as  they  lay  down.  Along 
side  Fish  lay  Ed  Culver,  a  Cherokee  Indian,  and 
the  same  long  Mauser  bullet  that  struck  the 
brave  roystering  aristocrat  struck  the  half-breed, 
for  it  passed  through  Fish's  body  and  lodged  in 
that  of  Culver.  When  Fish  was  struck  he  said 
to  Culver:  "I  am  wounded,"  to  which  Culver 
made  reply:  "And  I  am  killed."  But  it  was 
not  so,  for  it  was  Fish  who  died  when  they  took 
him  back  and  set  him  under  a  tree  with  his  face 
to  the  enemy,  while  the  half-breed  Indian  lived 
and,  though  shot  through  the  lung,  continued 
to  empty  his  rifle  at  the  Spaniards  until  his  am 
munition  pouch  was  exhausted  and  the  gun  fell 
from  his  hands. 

Soon  after  this  Captain  Capron  was  shot  as  he 
walked  along  the  line  cheering  his  men.  He  had 
taken  a  rifle  from  a  wounded  man  and  was  firing 
when  the  bullet  struck  him.  As  the  troopers 
lifted  him  to  carry  him  to  the  rear  he  shook  his 
head  and  said:  "No,  place  me  here.  I  want  to 
see  this  thing  out." 

And  so  he  did,  for  they  propped  up  his  head 
so  that  the  firing  line  was  visible,  and  when  the 
captain  died  the  troopers  were  chasing  down  the 
valley  and  up  the  hill  and  the  day  was  prac 
tically  won. 

When  it  was  seen  that  only  a  desperate  charge 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  109 

would  win  the  day,  orders  were  sent  along  the 
line  for  an  advance  and  then  began  the  first  of 
those  cyclonic  rushes  which  later  won  Santiago, 
and  which  so  amazed  the  Spaniards.  By  all  the 
rules  of  warfare  to  which  they  were  accustomed, 
the  Spanish  soldiers  held  an  impregnable  posi 
tion,  while  the  fire  to  which  the  Americans  were 
exposed  was  one  that  could  only  force  a  retreat. 
But  the  Americans  had  quite  another  idea  and 
when  the  word  came  to  advance  they  leaped  from 
cover  with  yell  that  rang  from  end  to  end  of  the 
line,  and  went  sweeping  down  the  sides  of  their 
hills,  across  the  valleys  beneath,  and  up  the 
central  mountain. 

As  at  Guantanamo  the  long  line  of  men  would 
rush  forward,  loading  as  they  rushed,  then  halt 
with  a  rock-like  poise,  aim  and  fire,  and  then 
rush  on  again.  On  the  right  could  be  heard  the 
screaming  negroes  of  the  Tenth,  in  the  center 
the  First  Cavalry  moved  forward  like  a  living 
wall,  while  to  the  left  the  Rough  Eiders,  yelling 
like  Indians,  pressed  forward,  Roosevelt  in  the 
lead  with  a  Krag-Jorgensen  in  his  hands  and 
yelling  as  loud  as  the  wildest  man  from  the  West. 

The  Spanish  fire  was  steady  enough  for  a  time, 
but  nothing  could  stand  the  charges  of  our  men. 
So  fast  was  the  pace  of  the  soldiers  across  the 
valley  and  up  the  hill  that  they  threw  away  their 


110  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

side  arms  and  accouterments  in  order  to  move 
the  faster.  The  Spaniards  moved  back  as  the 
men  advanced,  but  made  a  stand  in  the  intrench- 
ments  and  blockhouse.  Between  these  and  the 
line  of  advance  there  was  an  open  space  of  roll 
ing  land,  some  three  hundred  yards  across.  It 
was  when  the  Americans  emerged  from  the  bush 
into  this  open  space  that  the  Spanish  made  their 
last  attempt  to  drive  back  the  attacking  line,  and 
it  was  when  they  saw  how  the  dismounted  cav 
alrymen  swept  across  the  clearing  notwithstand 
ing  the  way  in  which  they  went  down  under 
the  close  range  Mauser  fire  that  they  gave  up  the 
impossibility  of  resisting  men  who  did  not  know 
when  they  were  beaten,  broke  and  ran.  On 
swept  our  men,  and  with  a  mighty  cheer  the  hill 
was  won,  Eough  Eiders  and  Kegulars,  white  and 
black,  shaking  hands  and  cheering  again  when 
they  found  breath — brothers  in  arms  indeed. 

Inside  the  trenches  were  many  Spanish  dead; 
within  the  blockhouse  were  seventeen  more,  and 
a  long  line  of  wagons  with  wounded  could  be 
seen  making  its  way  down  the  Santiago  trail. 
Altogether  and  from  after  reports  the  estimate 
is  made  that  the  Spanish  losses  at  La  Guasima 
numbered  fully  one  hundred  and  fifty.  Our 
losses  were,  of  the  First  United  States  Volunteer 
Cavalry,  eight  killed,  thirty-four  wounded;  of 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  Ill 

the  First  United  States  Cavalry,  seven  killed, 
eight  wounded ;  of  the  Tenth  United  States  Cav 
alry,  one  killed,  ten  wounded ;  that  is,  out  of  a 
total  strength  of  nine  hundred  and  sixtj'-four 
men,  sixteen  were  killed  and  fifty-two  wounded. 
Beside  these  losses  to  the  combatants,  Edward 
Marshall,  a  New  York  Journal  correspondent,  was 
seriously  and  for  a  time  it  was  believed  fatally 
wounded.  He  was  in  the  advance  with  the 
Bough  Eiders  as  they  moved  up  the  trail  and 
was  plodding,  struggling  along  with  the  best  of 
them  when  the  murderous  volley  from  the  Span 
iards  stopped  the  advance.  Though  warned  of 
his  danger  he  had  taken  a  place  underneath  a  royal 
palm  from  which  he  could  note  the  progress  of 
the  fight,  when  a  Mauser  bullet  passed  from  the 
groin,  the  point  of  entrance,  through  the  body 
and  shattered  the  base  of  the  spine.  Though 
told  by  the  surgeons  on  the  field  that  the  blow  was 
a  mortal  one,  Marshall  kept  his  ground.  It  was  an 
illustration  of  another  kind  of  bravery  than  that 
of  the  fighting  men.  It  was  the  bravery  of  duty. 


112  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HOW  THE  ARMY  MARCHED  TO  THE  FRONT. 

THE  skirmish  of  La  Guasima  took  place  on  June 
24 ;  the  first  assault  on  the  outposts  of  Santiago 
occurred  on  July  1.  Between  those  dates,  how 
ever,  much  was  done,  and  while  that  much  did 
not  include  any  more  brushes  with  the  Span 
iards,  it  was  a  time  of  hard  and  testing  experi 
ence.  The  story  of  the  great  fighting  will  be 
found  in  the  next  chapters,  but  he  who  would 
read  these  chapters  with  understanding  had  bet 
ter  read  this. 

Anticipatory  descriptions,  it  is  true,  are  al 
ways  more  or  less  looked  upon  as  halts  in  a  fair- 
running  story,  but  sometimes  these  halts  are 
necessary  for  the  full  appreciation  of  the  develop 
ment  of  that  story.  The  description  of  the  bat 
tles  of  San  Juan  and  El  Caney,  however  lamely 
told,  cannot  fail  to  make  the  pulses  beat,  but 
unless  one  puts  oneself  more  nearly  into  the 
place  of  the  American  soldier  than  would  be  the 
case  should  the  story  jump  from  the  landing  at 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  113 

Daiquiri  to  the  dash  up  the  great  hills  that  form 
the  outposts  of  the  Gran  Mesa,  one  will  not  get 
truly  into  the  very  heart  of  the  task  which  was 
set  the  American  soldier  to  do. 

"When  the  news  of  the  landing  at  Daiquiri 
reached  Washington  the  great  war  maps  of  San 
tiago  were  spread  out,  and  it  was  noticed  with 
satisfaction  that  from  the  landing-place  there  ran 
a  broad  highway  over  the  hills  to  Santiago.  But 
as  was  the  case  when  studying  the  road  that  was 
taken  by  the  Rough  Riders,  the  inaccuracies  of 
the  great  map  of  Cuba,  compiled  though  it  was 
by  the  Spanish  government,  were  astonishing. 
For  instance,  the  railroad,  which  really  ends  at 
Daiquiri,  is  set  down  as  turning  inland  from  a 
point  some  five  or  six  miles  to  the  east  of  its 
actual  terminus.  The  suburb  of  El  Caney  is 
written  Guay,  and  is  located  five  miles  to  the 
west  of  where  it  really  is;  Siboney  is  not  on  the 
maps  at  all,  while  towns  which  are  marked  inland 
were  found  to  be  on  the  seacoast,  and  those 
which  were  set  down  on  the  cliffs  were  found  to 
be  miles  back  in  the  woods.  To  add  to  these 
contradictions  of  topography  it  was  found  that 
the  residential  nomenclature  was  not  at  all  that 
of  the  map-maker,  while  the  Cubans,  possibly  as 
another  evidence  of  their  love  of  freedom,  had 


The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

from  two  to  half  a  dozen  different  names  for  the 
same  place. 

But,  perplexing  as  these  contradictions  and 
mislocations  were,  they  faded  into  insignificance 
before  the  upset  of  transportation  plans  and  the 
new  set  of  physical  problems  which  were  caused 
and  presented  by  the  vast  difference  of  what  was 
seen  on  the  maps  and  what  was  found  on  land. 
In  the  matter  of  roads  it  may  be  set  down  at  once 
that  the  invading  army  found  none  that  could  be 
called  military  highways.  What  it  did  find  were 
trails  and  bridle  paths.  On  the  maps  and  from 
the  sea  were  shown  and  could  be  seen  the  larger 
outlines  of  the  Sierra  Cobre,  but  these  broad 
outlines  concealed  a  mass  of  smaller,  but  steep, 
declivities,  cross-running  hills,  swampy  gullies 
and  rocky  spurs  that  lined  the  face  of  nature  as 
thickly  as  do  the  wrinkles  on  that  of  an  old 
Breton  fisherwoman. 

The  Gran  Mesa  was  to  Major-General  Shafter 
the  great  alluring  spot  from  the  very  outset. 
To  gain  that  plateau  was  the  central  point  of  his 
strategy.  That  plateau  was,  as  it  were,  like  the 
palm  of  an  inviting  hand  laid  down  midway  on 
the  map  between  Daiquiri  and  Santiago.  To 
the  west  of  the  plateau,  that  is  Santiagowards, 
it  was  flanked  by  a  system  of  hills  whose  slopes 
trended  down  to  the  city.  The  occupation  of 


"•>rf£ 


r?*w 


Wfc-vM 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  115 

this  plateau  therefore,  with  its  bulwark  of  hills, 
meant  the  command,  the  actual  investment,  of 
Santiago.  To  throw  his  men  right  across  the 
country,  until  it  should  form  a  line  across  these 
uplands,  was  therefore  Shafter's  first  necessity. 
It  was,  to  use  the  same  figure  of  speech,  as 
though,  having  gained  a  place  on  that  inviting 
palm  of  the  Gran  Mesa,  the  hand  were  turned 
until  it  rested  on  edge,  forming  a  living  line  of 
circumvallation  which  was  to  move  closer  and 
closer  on  the  invested  city. 

Two  other  factors  were  to  be  considered  in  the 
coming  fight :  First  the  possible  reinforcement  of 
General  Linares  by  General  Pando;  second,  the 
possible  escape  of  General  Linares  from  Santiago 
when  he  found  that  the  day  had  gone  against 
him.  Shafter  had  fourteen  thousand  seven  hun 
dred  men;  the  best,  the  most  reliable,  estimates 
placed  the  army  of  Linares  at  eleven  thousand 
four  hundred  and  thirty,  while  Pando  was  re 
ported  as  having  nine  thousand  under  him  at 
Holquin.  To  prevent  Linares  from  slipping 
away  from  and  Pando  from  slipping  into  Santi 
ago,  therefore,  it  was  an  essential  that — still 
keeping  to  the  simile  of  the  hand — the  finger 
tips  should  be  crooked  until  the  living  line 
which  it  indicated  had  closed  around  Santiago 
Bay  on  the  north  and  westward.  So  the  moving 


116  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

and  crushing  process  was  to  go  on  until  Santiago 
was  in  the  American  grasp. 

By  looking  at  the  accompanying  map  it  will 
be  seen  that  were  a  line  drawn  across  the  three 
points,  Aguadores,  San  Juan  and  El  Caney  and 
then  curved  around  to  the  westward,  it  would 
roughly  form  a  parallel  line  to  that  of  the  Santi 
ago  Bay  shore.  These  three  places,  because  of 
their  position  and  because  they  were  the  foci  of 
the  Spanish  defenses,  were  therefore  selected  as 
the  three  main  points  in  the  plan  of  occupation 
and  investment,  with  San  Juan  as  the  center,  El 
Caney  as  the  right  and  Aguadores  as  the  left  of 
attack.  General  Lawton's  division  was  to  as 
sault  El  Caney;  General  Duffield  was  to  march 
against  Aguadores,  and  Generals  Wheeler  and 
Kent  were  to  advance  against  San  Juan. 

This  broad  outline  of  Shafter's  plan  of  attack 
is  all  that  need  be  given  here.  What  is  next  to 
be  shown  is  what  our  men  encountered  as  they 
moved  into  position  to  carry  out  this  plan  of 
attack.  In  order  that  there  might  be  as  little 
congestion  as  possible  and  in  pursuance  with  the 
commanding  officer's  policy  of  hurry  work,  the 
troops  were  hastened  forward  from  the  landing- 
places  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The  next  days 
saw  the  entire  debarkation  of  the  first  army  of 
invasion,  this  work  having  been  expedited  by 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  117 

sending  some  of  the  transports  into  the  adjoin 
ing  cove  of  Siboney  after  it  had  been  ridden  of 
the  enemy  by  the  dismounted  cavalry  on  June 
24.  It  was  a  fatal  expediteness  as  it  proved,  for 
though  the  selection  of  this  enticing,  vine- 
embowered  little  hamlet  by  the  sea  was  undeni 
ably  useful  as  a  second  and  additional  point  from 
which  to  hurry  troops  inland  and  new  base  of 
supplies,  it  proved  afterward  to  be  the  starting 
point  of  a  plague  that  meant  a  shallow  Cuban 
grave  for  many  a  good  man. 

In  the  first  days  the  march  toward  Santiago 
was  generally  begun  in  the  early  morning  or  the 
late  afternoon,  but  toward  the  last,  regiments, 
companies  and  troops  were  sent  forward  at  any 
hour,  no  matter  what  the  position  of  the  sun. 
Each  regiment,  company  or  troop  went  forward 
with  a  swing,  but  as  the  days  of  weary  climbing 
through  brush  and  undergrowth,  over  rocks  and 
across  gullies  went  on,  the  very  life  seemed  to 
go  out  of  the  men. 

The  curious  tourists  who  will  flock  to  Santiago 
and  walk  back  over  the  road  from  the  lovely 
suburb  of  El  Caney  to  Daiquiri  and  note  that 
between  the  metropolis  of  eastern  Cuba  and  the 
landing-place  of  the  iron  company  there  is  a 
road,  and  a  moderately  good  one,  will  fail  to  un 
derstand  the  true  character  of  the  Via  Dolorosa 


118  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

over  which  our  troops  had  to  make  their  way. 
Before  these  troops  had  stamped  it  into  some 
thing  like  a  roadbed  and  the  engineers  had  been 
fitfully  at  work,  before  the  brush  had  be*u  cut 
away  and  the  swamps  logged  into  something  ap 
proaching  passability,  every  step  was  a  labor. 
Then  the  roads  outside  the  one  main  route  were 
simply  errant  paths  through  dense  tropical  for 
ests,  over  sun-scorched  patches  of  desert  and 
through  rank  grass  and  tangled  weeds  which 
were  as  ropes  and  nets  to  the  feet  of  the  men. 
There  were  no  bridges  over  the  streams,  no  tres 
tles  across  the  gullies,  and  nowhere  were  the 
paths  wide  enough  for  two  vehicles.  What  this 
moment  was  the  trickling  remnant  of  a  stream  in 
a  rocky  bed  became  a  torrential  river  after  five 
minutes'  of  cloudburst  in  the  mountains;  the 
engineers'  makeshift  bridges  were  swept  away 
time  and  again;  wagon  trains  were  stalled  all 
along  the  line  of  march,  communication  was  at 
times  entirely  interrupted  between  the  front  and 
the  shore  depots,  and  as  an  example  of  the  condi 
tion  of  things  it  may  be  stated  that  during  the 
four  days  preceding  the  surrender  it  was  only 
possible  to  get  to  the  front  one  light  battery  of 
the  six  brought  by  General  Kandolph,  while  not 
a  single  one  of  the  heavy  siege  guns  was  taken 
off  the  transports  at  Siboney. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  119 


o 


The  experience  which  had  been  that  of  the 
First  and  Tenth  Cavalry  and  Rough  Eiders  was 
repeated  in  the  case  of  the  troops  in  the  main 
advance.  When  they  started  on  the  march  every 
man  went  in  full  marching  order.  That  meant 
rifle,  cartridges,  bayonet,  pistol,  canteen, 
poncho,  half  of  a  shelter  tent,  rations  and  what 
ever  else  the  man  might  like  to  burden  himself 
with.  The  men  had  worn  these  traps  on  the  hot 
but  breezy  days  when  they  were  in  Camp  Black, 
on  the  hotter  and  breezeless  days  when  they 
were  at  Chickamauga,  in  the  sweltering  pine 
groves  back  of  Tampa,  and  in  the  oven-like 
plains  of  our  great  middle  basin,  but  none  of 
these  experiences  had  fitted  them  for  what  they 
were  enduring  now.  As  the  regiments  moved 
from  the  beaches  up  into  the  trails,  they  were  as 
presentable  and  trim  a  set  of  fighting  men  as  one 
would  wish  to  see.  When  they  had  got  into  po 
sition  along  the  line  of  attack  they  were  as 
untrim,  un-uniformed  and  bedraggled  a  lot  of 
fighting  men  as  ever  did  great  deeds.  As  they 
struggled  up  the  hillsides  and  tramped  down 
the  slopes  the  packs  shifted  and  slipped  and  bore 
down  on  them ;  and  as  the  sun  beat  down  on  the 
lines  of  men  that  were  stretched  for  miles 
through  this  terrible  country  the  packs  and 
bundles  and  impedimenta  slid  about  as  though 


120  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

they  were  alive,  and  gained  in  weight  from 
pounds  to  tons.  In  the  woods  the  packs  caught 
in  the  overhanging  underbrush  and  sent  the  men 
stumbling  and  falling.  In  the  open  places  the 
sun  was  like  a  furnace  and  the  packs  were  like 
lead.  At  last  one  man  threw  his  blanket  away 
and  then  was  begun  over  and  carried  out  that 
scene  of  derobernent  and  dispossession  which  had 
marked  the  progress  of  the  dismounted  cavalry 
men.  Blankets  were  strung  along  the  bushes  as 
though  some  flock  of  gigantic  sheep  had  gone 
through  and  had  left  tufts  of  wool  on  every 
bush.  After  the  blankets  went  cans  of  meat, 
then  the  shelter  tents,  then  the  cooking  outfit, 
then  coats  and  underclothes  and  anything  else 
except  his  fatigue  uniform,  his  rifle  and  cart 
ridges,  for  these  last  two  essentials  every  man 
kept. 

This  was  while  the  sun  was  blazing,  but  when 
the  sun  set  there  came  another  evil  out  of  this 
strange  land.  The  awful  heat  passed  and  with 
the  night  air  came  a  penetrating,  damp  chill  that 
seemed  to  touch  the  bone. 

All  during  the  day  not  even  the  liveliest  imagi 
nation  could  conceive  of  such  heat  being  followed 
by  any  such  poetic  relief  as  "the  cool  of  the 
evening,"  nor  were  the  evenings  cool,  but  it  was 
at  that  crisis  of  the  night,  the  early  hours  of 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  121 

dawn,  that  the  searching,  penetrating  cold  came 
upon  the  men.  So  cold  indeed  was  it  at  this 
time,  partly  by  comparison  with  the  hot  day  and 
partly  as  a  positive  condition,  that  the  men  were 
actually  awakened  shivering  at  about  two  or  three 
o'clock.  The  first  consideration  then  was  warmth 
and  dryness,  but  when  another  hour  or  so  had 
passed  and  reveille  had  sounded  at  four  o'clock 
another  change  had  come  and  exercise  seemed 
the  desideratum  in  the  fresh  of  the  morning. 
Another  hour  or  two  and  as  the  sun  mounted 
and  the  pitiless  heat  grew  apace  all  the  men 
wanted  to  do  was  to  sit  and  rest.  So  the  changes 
went  on,  from  cool  humidity  to  hot  humidity, 
each  change  sapping  away  the  very  vitality  of 
the  men. 

A  still  more  serious  result  to  the  men  came 
from  their  stripping  themselves  during  their 
march.  Not  only  did  they  throw  away  their 
heavy  clothing,  but  they  rejected  their  food  sup 
plies,  trusting  to  luck  and  the  supply  trains;  or 
they  abandoned  their  rations  for  the  simple  rea 
son  that  the  rations  were  heavy  and  they  were 
hot  But  the  supply  trains,  as  has  been  inti 
mated,  were  as  rare  as  Sunday  railway  trains  in 
Vermont,  and  the  situation  of  the  camps  soon 
became  a  serious  one.  Officers  and  men  were 
alike  in  their  plight,  but  all  through  the  ranks 


122  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

* 

there  was  no  complaining.  The  ready  helping 
hand  of  good  companionship  was  there  and  the 
clever  combining,  lending  and  aiding  that  went 
far  toward  relieving  the  individual  discomforts, 
and  that  welded  the  companionship  of  the  men 
into  those  strong  bonds  of  friendship  formed  in 
times  of  trial  which  never  break  and  live  forever. 

One  great  practical  lesson  in  the  economy  of 
the  commissariat  was  learned  in  this  march. 
When  the  men  left  the  landing-places  they  car 
ried  cans  of  preserved  food — admirable  forms  of 
protected  diet  under  certain  conditions,  but  cans 
of  meat  and  vegetables  are  decidedly  iumpj"  and 
uncomfortable  adjuncts  to  a  march  through  a 
tropical  forest,  and,  it  will  be  remembered,  they 
were  among  the  first  things  to  be  slung  into  the 
bush.  Between  a  future  meal  of  bacon  and 
beans  and  a  present  bumping  battering  ram 
there  was  no  choice,  and  the  banging  thing  was 
discarded.  The  three  essentials  of  food  that  the 
men  clung  to  were  coffee,  hardtack  and  bacon — 
the  standard  rations — and  it  was  proved  again 
that  with  these  three  simples  an  army  could  be 
kept  in  well-sustained  and  fighting  trim. 

The  men  on  march,  too,  furnished  a  practical 
solution  of  the  water  question.  Before  the  inva 
sion  of  Cuba  there  were  many  learned  discus 
sions  on  water  supply,  the  hygiene  of  water-drink- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  123 

ing,  clever  arrangements  for  filtration  and  the 
establishment  of  condensing  plants.  Scientific 
men,  military  men  and  fadful  men  wrote  and 
talked  about  the  water  of  Cuba  and  the  water 
which  our  troops  were  to  get  while  in  Cuba.  It 
was  to  be  boiled  and  filtered  and  never  drunk 
unless  filtered  and  boiled.  In  theory,  the 
columns  of  learned  matter  which  were  printed 
and  the  hours  of  clever  talk  which  were  given  to 
the  subject  were  admirable.  In  practice,  the 
men  drank  the  first  water  they  came  to.  When 
the  Spaniards  withdrew  from  Daiquiri  and  Sib- 
oney  they  partially  destroyed  the  w?ater  systems 
of  those  two  places,  but  our  engineers  repaired 
them  and  the  water  taken  from  those  tanks  was 
freely  used  without  boiling  or  filtering,  and  with 
out  any  ill  effects.  In  the  inland  march  the  men 
crossed  many  streams,  largo  and  small,  and  the 
men  drank  of  these  streams  without  boiling  or 
filtering  and  apparently  without  any  ill  effects. 

The  water  that  did  bother  them  was  that  which 
came  down  in  sheets,  cold  drenching  sheets, 
every  time  the  black  clouds  swept  across  the 
Sierra  Cobre.  They  had  heard  of  the  wet  season 
in  Cuba,  but  as  their  experience  of  Cuban  heat 
transcended  their  imagination  of  it,  so  was  it  the 
case  in  their  conception  and  experience  of  a  rainy 
afternoon  near  Santiago.  Before  the  storm 


124  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

came,  the  sultry  air  grew  still  sultrier.  From 
the  trampled,  beaten,  crushed,  tropical  under 
growth  rose  sickening  odors  and  heavy  miasmatic 
mists.  As  the  heat  grew  fiercer,  the  odors  and 
mists  grew  heavier.  Every  life-giving  quality  of 
the  air  seemed  to  be  squeezed  out  of  it,  and  even 
the  myriad  insects  and  crawling  reptiles  were 
quieted. 

Then,  just  as  the  sizzling  heat  reached  a 
spot  where  it  apparently  could  go  no  further 
and  bo  bearable,  a  zigzag  flash,  a  thunderclap, 
and  a  cataract  of  ice-cold  rain  came  simulta 
neously,  and  every  man  was  soaked  and  shiver 
ing.  If  the  men  were  marching,  they  found 
themselves  suddenly  wading  through  swift  run 
ning  streams  of  cold  muddy  water,  with  what 
they  had  on  changed  from  its  reek  of  perspira 
tion  into  cold,  wet,  clinging  garments.  If  the 
men  were  in  camp  or  the  trenches,  their  fires 
were  put  out  and  every  ditch  became  a  mud  pool. 
For  two  or  three  hours  the  icy  water  fell,  until 
all  the  hillsides  were  moving  with  a  floating  mass 
of  mud  and  leaves,  and  the  muddy  water  in  the 
trails  had  risen  from  sole  to  ankle  and  from  ankle 
to  legging  top.  Then,  as  suddenly  as  it  had 
begun,  the  storm  would  come  to  an  end,  the  sun 
came  out  hotter  than  ever;  the  wet  ground 
steamed;  horrible  crawling,  flying  things  filled 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  125 

the  muggy  air,  and  from  shivering  the  men 
passed  to  gasping.  Yet  through  it  all  the  men 
pressed  forward,  far  less  complainingly  perhaps, 
than  they  would  have  done  had  they  been  at 
home  and  a  summer  shower  had  spoiled  their 
picnic. 

The  flying  pests  of  Cuba  the  men  found  bad 
enough,  but  it  was  the  consensus  of  opinion 
that  bad  as  gnats,  mosquitoes  and  beetles  were 
they  were  far  less  dreaded  than  the  land  crabs, 
and  this  because  of  the  repulsiveness  of  the 
latter  creatures.  These  hard-shelled,  crawling 
things  were  everywhere,  in  the  woods  and  on  the 
plains;  crowds  of  them  in  the  gullies  and  troops 
of  them  on  the  hilltops.  No  matter  where  the 
men  marched  or  where  they  halted,  there  were 
the  squads,  regiments  and  battalions  of  the  land 
crabs,  until  the  men  were  sickened  at  the  sight 
and  began  to  believe  that,  like  sharks  following 
a  ship,  the  land  crabs  actually  followed  the 
army,  a  species  of  horrible  camp  follower.  In  size 
the  land  crabs  varied  from  four  to  twelve  inches 
across  the  carapace,  its  covering  area  being,  of 
course,  increased  by  legs  and  claws,  the  latter 
qu  fce  formidable  implements. 

They  are  rather  gay-colored  creatures,  their 
tints  ranging  from  light-green  to  dark-blue,  the 
blue  crab  being  the  most  objectionable.  They  are 


126  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

decidedly  gregarious  and  traTel  in  hosts,  and  are 
not  inclined  to  let  anything  interfere  with  their 
line  of  progression.  Individually,  the  crab  walks 
in  a  decidedly  aggressive  attitude.  The  eye 
stalks  are  thrust  out,  the  body  tilted  sidewise, 
and  the  claws  thrown  upward  and  outward  like 
sabers.  He  has  the  strange  fashion  of  moving 
forward  for  a  few  feet  then  rapidly  scuttling 
either  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  and  then  as 
abruptly  walking  backward.  As  this  decidedly 
eccentric  method  of  advance  seems  to  animate 
the  whole  body  of  crabs,  the  aggregate  result  is 
that  this  whole  body  of  crabs  seems  to  move 
along  in  a  wave-like  motion.  As  they  move  they 
clash  their  claws  and  rattle  among  themselves, 
so  that  when  making  their  way  through  the  brush 
or  grass  the  sound  of  their  progress  is  so  singu 
larly  like  that  of  men  marching  that  our  pickets 
constantly  mistook  the  advance  of  the  crabs  for 
the  sudden  onslaught  of  the  enemy.  As  the  men 
marched  the  crabs  marched  too  in  parallel 
columns;  and  whe:i  the  men  halted  for  the  night 
the  crabs  swarmed  over  the  sleeping  men  and 
acted  in  a  generally  inquisitive  and  unpleasant 
fashion.  Many  stories  were  spread  by  imagina 
tive  Cubans  of  the  uncanny  results  of  crab-nips, 
of  nocturnal  attacks  on  protruding  toes,  and  of 
the  desperate  results  that  would  follow  should  a 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  127 

crab  desire  the  protruding  toe;  of  their  living  in 
the  poisoned  shade  of  witch  trees  and  so  on,  but 
in  plain  truth  they  are  the  creeping  buzzards  of 
the  West  Indies,  and  aid  those  disagreeable  look 
ing  bird  in  the  great  work  of  scavengering. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  Santiago  lies 
at  the  head  of  a  landlocked  bay,  six  miles  from  the 
sea.  Aguadores  lies  two  and  a  half  miles  east  of 
the  entrance  to  the  harbor  and  is  directly  south  of 
Santiago  itself,  the  bay  shore  curving  northward 
to  El  Morro.  Four  miles  southeast  of  Santiago 
is  the  ridge  of  San  Juan.  Three  miles  northwest 
of  Santiago  is  the  suburb  of  El  Caney,  which  is 
six  miles  due  north  of  San  Juan.  A  line  from 
El  Caney  to  Aguadores  through  San  Juan  would 
be  a  fairly  straight  line  in  a  southwesterly  di 
rection.  Both  San  Juan  and  El  Caney  are 
perched  upon  hills,  the  flat-topped  steep-sided 
formation  before  alluded  to  as  the  distinguishing 
mark  of  Las  Altares  characterizing  the  scores  of 
hills  into  which  the  country  is  broken  to  the  east 
of  Santiago  Bay.  On  the  flat  tops  of  these  hills 
the  rich  Santiagoanshad  built  themselves  broad- 
eaved  country  seats,  or  farmhouses,  the  altitude  of 
the  locality  and  the  general  park-like  character 
of  the  country  making  these  plantation  houses 
charming  homes. 

The  Spanish  engineers  were  quick  to  see  the 


128  The  Fall  of  Santiago: 

strategical  importance  of  these  hills  as  natural 
defenses  and  were  most  ingenious  in  their  elabo 
rations  upon  nature's  work.  The  farmhouses,  or 
country  seats,  were  quickly  and  effectually  trans 
formed  into  forts  by  filling  the  spaces  between 
the  piazza  pillars  with  ramparts  of  broken  stone 
or  earth  bags  and  by  breaking  out  loopholes  in 
the  walls.  Where  no  farmhouses  stood  they 
built  a  blockhouse  of  planks  and  stone,  and 
perched  these  so  promiscuously  and  generously 
about  that  from  any  commanding  elevation  one 
might  count  a  score  of  these  tiny  forts. 

As  a  further  elaboration  in  the  system  of  de 
fense  the  engineers  made  free  use  of  Weyler's 
great  barbed-wire  idea.  Barbed-wire  fences 
were  found  bordering  the  trails  and  it  was 
learned  that  these  had  been  erected  for  the  sim 
ple  purpose  of  keeping  the  Cubans  in  the  right 
path,  any  Cuban  caught  straying  in  the  woods 
being  summarily  treated  as  one  who  had  crossed 
the  deathline;  or  at  least  as  one  who  was  a 
poacher  on  preserves,  or  a  suspicious  character. 
Barbed-wire  was  strung  around  the  approaches 
to  every  blockhouse.  The  Rough  Eiders  had 
found  it  impeding  their  way  when  they  charged 
the  hill  at  La  Guasima  and  the  men  who  fought 
at  San  Juan  and  El  Caney  found  that,  like  the 
experience  of  Cuban  heat  and  Cuban  jungle,  the 


c 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  129 

reality  went  far  ahead  of  even  the  most  vivid 
anticipation. 

The  quartermaster-general  had  been  forwarned 
of  the  barbed-wire  defenses  which  the  American 
army  would  meet  with  in  Cuba  and  had  fore 
armed  the  men  with  nippers,  but  nippers,  like 
cans  of  corned  beef,  are  hard  things  to  carry  on 
a  hot  march,  and  were  among  the  first  of  the  im 
pedimenta  to  be  dropped.  Moreover,  when  the 
barbed-wire  fences  were  met  with  they  did  not 
yield  to  the  nippers  as  easily  as  had  been  antici 
pated.  The  nippers  had  been  supplied  on  the 
belief  that  the  barbed-wire  abatis  was  composed 
simply  of  wire  fences  of  from  four  to  eight  feet 
high,  and  that  a  few  vigorous  nips  along  the 
posts  would  result  in  loose  strands  that  could 
easily  be  thrown  back  and  so  open  the  way  to 
the  men.  It  was  found,  however,  that  the 
barbed-wire  defenses  were  not  built  on  this  simple 
fence  plan.  Instead  of  being  stretched  in  regular 
strands  the  wire  was  strung  from  tree  to  tree  at 
the  most  irregular  heights  possible.  Some 
times,  a  strand  was  found  fastened  to  a  stump 
and  running  thence  to  a  neighboring  tree  at  such 
an  angle  as  to  carry  it  ten  feet  from  the  ground, 
from  which  it  slanted  down  to  the  next  tree  to  a 
height  of  three  or  four  feet  from  the  ground. 
Six  or  eight  strands  of  the  wire  would  thus  be 


130  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

run  irregularly  along  for  miles,  and  it  meant  a 
hunt  to  discover  each  individual  strand. 

To  have  done  with  the  barbed-wire  question 
so  as  not  to  let  it  interfere  with  the  plain  de 
scription  of  the  fight,  it  may  be  said  here  that 
both  at  San  Juan  and  El  Caney  it  was  frequently 
found  that  the  only  way  to  discover  the  presence 
of  a  barbed-wire  fence  was  to  run  against  it.  At 
the  last  slope-down  of  a  steep  hill,  in  the  pools 
and  rivers,  strung  along  through  the  rank  grass 
and  surrounding  the  rifle  pits  and  trenches  in  a 
perfect  maze — were  these  abominable  wire  fences. 
Nor  were  they  made  of  single  strands,  but  were 
often  most  elaborately  put  together,  being  in 
some  cases  twisted  together  like  ropes  and  so 
matted  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  a  finger  in 
between  the  interstices.  Before  such  unusual  and 
artful  use  of  barbed-wire  the  nippers  with  which 
the  American  soldiers  were  provided  were  not 
much  more  useful  than  cheese  scoops  would  be 
as  rock  drills. 

To  the  array  of  blockhouses  and  forts  and  the 
tangle  of  barbed-wire,  the  Spanish  engineers  had 
added  admirably  devised  lines  of  deep  but  nar 
row  trenches,  running  in  such  lines  that  the 
riflemen  holding  them  could  easily  move  from 
one  range  to  another.  Line  after  line  of  these 
trenches  and  rifle  pits  was  found  at  every  pos- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  131 

sible  point  of  vantage,  the  "whole  system  of  de 
fense  exciting  the  admiration  of  our  engineers. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  army  pushed  its  way  into 
the  line  of  attack,  and  it  was  after  passing 
through  such  trials  of  advance,  climate,  country, 
and  pests  that  it  found  itself,  on  the  night 
of  June  31,  drawn  up  across  the  island  in  a 
great  broken  line  of  three  divisions  from  El 
Caney  in  the  interior  to  Aguadores  on  the  sea. 
But  they  had  all  been  natural  difficulties  to  over 
come  and  bear,  none  of  battle,  for,  save  for  the 
brush  at  La  Guasima,  the  Spanish  had  made  no 
resistance  to  the  army's  advance.  The  men  had 
practically  landed  without  opposition,  and  just 
as  it  was  Shafter's  bustling  policy  to  push  his 
men  forward  until  they  occupied  the  outposts  of 
Santiago,  so  it  turned  out  now  to  be  the  Span 
iard's  equally  well-settled  plan  of  campaign  to 
let  that  advance  be  made  until  those  outposts  were 
reached,  and  then  to  defend  them  to  the  death. 


132  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HOW    EL    CANEY   WAS    CARRIED. 

IN  the  future  days  of  criticism  much  "will 
doubtless  be  said  as  to  the  wisdom,  indecision 
and  fortuitous  fulfillment  of  Shafter's  plan  of 
campaign.  But  this  book  is  a  record  of  events 
and  not  a  discussion  of  military  technicalities. 

Doubtless  Shafter  expected  to  do  much  more 
in  certain  directions  than  he  did;  and  in  other 
directions  much  more  was  done  than  he  had  an 
ticipated  would  be  the  case.  The  capture  of  El 
Caney  was  to  be  effected,  so  Shafter  thought,  in 
the  early  hours  of  the  day,  after  which  the 
troops  were  to  join  those  before  San  Juan  and  the 
day  was  to  be  wound  up  in  a  joint  attack  on  and 
capture  of  San  Juan.  As  it  turned  out,  El 
Caney  offered  a  more  stubborn  resistance  than 
did  San  Juan,  and  by  the  time  the  troops  form 
ing  the  right  of  the  general  advance  had  carried 
the  suburb,  San  Juan  had  been  stormed  and 
taken. 

It  is  a  fact,  too,  that  Shafter  planned  the  re- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  133 

duction  of  an  intrenched  city  without  seige  guns 
and  mortars,  these  having  been  left  on  the  Ori 
zaba.  But  in  explanation  of  this  it  may  be  said 
that  Shafter,  in  the  choice  between  an  assault  by 
unsupported  infantry  and  waiting  for  the  engi 
neers  to  put  the  road  into  sufficiently  good  con 
dition  to  admit  of  moving  the  siege  batteries  to 
the  front,  decided  that  it  was  better  to  attack  the 
Spaniards  by  his  army  as  it  stood  with  such  field 
pieces  as  could  be  easily  moved  forward,  rather 
than  to  expose  his  men  to  climatic  effects.  As 
the  men  stood  they  were  yet  full  of  the  strength 
and  vitality  they  had  brought  with  them,  but 
subject  them  to  a  long  exposure  to  summer  rains 
and  heat,  argued  Shafter,  and  the  debilitating 
powers  of  these  enemies  would  seriously  dimmish 
the  fighting  quality  of  his  army. 

The  disposition  of  the  army,  as  decided  on  at 
a  council  of  war  on  June  29,  was  as  follows : 
Lawton's  Division,  the  Second,  was  sent  against 
El  Caney;  Kent's  Division,  the  First,  and 
Wheeler's  Cavalry  Division  were  to  proceed 
against  San  Juan;  Duffield's  Brigade  was  to 
move  on  Aguadores.  In  the  order  of  description, 
the  fight  and  fortunes  of  the  men  at  El  Caney 
will  be  first  taken  up.  The  Second  Division  was 
constituted  as  follows : 

First  Brigade,   General  Ludlow  commanding, 


134  The  Fall  of  Santiagft. 

Eighth,  Twenty-second,  and  Second  Massachu 
setts. 

Second  Brigade,  Colonel  Miles  commanding 
Fourth,  First,  and  Twenty-fifth. 

Third  Brigade,  General  Chaffee  commanding, 
Twelfth,  Seventh,  and  Seventeenth. 

Captain  Capron's  Battery  E,  First  Artillery, 
was  to  shell  the  town  and  General  Garcia,  as 
our  ally,  held  a  thousand  Cubans  under  him. 
Later  in  the  day  General  Bates'  Independent 
Brigade  was  attached  to  Lawton's  division. 

General  Lawton,  following  the  council  of  war, 
not  only  went  over  the  field  carefully  on  the 
map,  but  in  company  with  his  three  brigade 
commanders  made  a  reconnaissance  on  June  30. 
Lawton  reported  that  he  found  the  Spanish 
ground  much  stronger  than  he  had  anticipated, 
and  in  the  absence  of  heavy  artillery  he  sug 
gested  that  he  move  his  forces  at  night  and  so 
get  into  position  for  delivering  his  blow  in  the 
early  morning.  Lawton  failed  to  get  proper 
support  for  his  suggestion  and,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  Chaffee's  Brigade,  the  division  slept  on  its 
arms.  General  Chaffee,  however,  worked  his 
men  well  to  the  northward  all  during  June  30, 
and  before  the  night  was  over  had  his  men  in 
position,  well  intrenched  to  the  north  and  east 
of  El  Caney.  At  early  dawn  on  July  1  the  other 


L 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  135 

troops  of  Lawton's  Division  made  their  way  to 
the  positions  previously  designated  for  them  to 
occupy.  Ludlow's  Brigade  and  Garcia's  Cubans 
moved  still  further  around  El  Caney  until  they 
rested  on  the  west  of  the  village  in  order  to  cut 
off  the  retreat  of  the  Spaniards  when  they  should 
be  driven  out  of  the  town  and  attempt  to  retire. 
Colonel  Miles'  Brigade  took  up  a  position  to  the 
east  of  El  Caney ;  Bates,  on  his  arrival,  forming 
to  the  southeast. 

By  this  disposition  of  troops  it  will  be  seen  the 
division  occupied  a  broad  segment  of  a  circle 
with  El  Caney  as  the  center.  Dominating  El 
Caney  was  a  stone  fort  perched  on  the  very  apex 
of  a  hill,  which  looked  like  a  minature  peak,  and 
at  whose  base  lay  the  village.  The  fort  was  a 
mediaeval  affair,  four  square,  except  for  a  round 
bastion  at  each  corner.  But  mediaeval  as  it 
was  in  construction,  it  was  filled  with  men 
armed  with  modern  guns  and  proved  a  veritable 
citadel.  It  was  toward  this  fort  that  Captain 
Capron  directed  the  fire  of  his  light  battery  of 
four  guns.  He  had  planted  his  battery  before 
sunrise  on  a  bluff  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant 
from  the  town,  there  being  a  deep  swale  of  roll 
ing  land  between  the  fort  and  the  battery,  the 
emplacement  of  the  battery  having  been  effected 
without  the  enemy's  discovering  the  move. 


136  The  Fall  of  Santigao. 

It  was  yet  dark  when  at  five-forty  on  the  morn 
ing  of  July  1  Captain  Capron  gave  the  command 
"Cannoneers,  take  your  places."  The  sun  was 
still  hidden  behind  the  high  peaks  of  the  Sierra 
Cobre,  but  there  was  light  enough  to  see  the 
general  surroundings,  while  with  a  good  glass  one 
could  distinguish  the  Spanish  soldiers  moving 
about  the  trenches  which  were  lined  thickly  in 
front  of  the  stone  fort,  and  other  men  on  horseback 
riding  out  of  the  fort.  Capron's  four  pieces,  which 
were  of  3.2  caliber,  were  lined  up  at  some  little 
distance  apart,  but  with  their  fire  all  concentra 
ted  on  the  fortifications.  The  range  was  an 
nounced  to  be  from  twenty-three  hundred  and 
fifty  to  twenty-four  hundred  yards.  Just  before 
the  first  gun  was  fired,  and  while  comments  were 
being  freely  made  on  the  fact  that  no  flag  had 
been  run  up  on  the  fort  and  surmises  were  being 
hazarded  that  the  town  had  been  evacuated,  up 
popped  the  sun  from  behind  the  Sierra  and  up 
went  the  flag.  Capron  accepted  this  apparently 
as  a  defi,  and  immediately  gave  command  to  open 
the  battle.  He  was  the  father  of  the  young 
officer  who  had  been  killed  at  the  skirmish  of  La 
Guasima,  and  it  seemed  fitting  that  he  should 
have  the  honor  of  opening  the  assault  on  the 
city. 

The  first  of  our  shells  brought  no  answer,  nor 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  137 

did  the  next  two  or  three,  and  the  belief  began 
to  obtain  that  even  if  El  Caney  were  not  deserted 
there  were  no  troops  in  it  that  would  fight. 
Soon,  however,  an  answer  came  in  the  shape  of  a 
Spanish  shell,  which  burst  on  the  roof  of  a  small 
block  house  at  one  side  of  Capron's  battery  and  in 
which  a  number  of  soldiers  were  standing  to  get 
a  better  view  of  the  artillery  duel.  It  wounded 
eighteen  Americans  and  thirteen  Cubans. 
This,  however,  was  the  best  shot  of  the  Spanish 
gunners  for,  while  their  line  was  moderately 
good,  their  range  was  generally  too  high.  Cap 
ron's  shooting  was  excellent,  but  though  many 
of  his  shells  struck  the  stone  fort  and  a  small 
block  house  which  stood  on  another  hill  back  of 
it,  his  guns  were  too  light  to  cause  any  very 
great  damage.  At  half-past  seven  the  artillery 
fire  on  both  sides  slackened,  but  half  an  hour 
later  Capron  began  his  share  of  it  again,  with  re 
newed  energy,  General  Lawton's  infantry  being 
at  that  time  prepared  for  its  advance. 

The  same  swale  which  lay  between  the  bluff  on 
which  Capron's  battery  was  placed  and  the  hill 
on  which  the  stone  fort  was  perched  extended 
around  the  suburbs  in  moderately  well-defined 
fashion,  but  broken  by  rolling  land  and  gullies 
and  small  winding  streams ;  the  general  elevation 


138  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

of  the  country  being  lower  to  the  left  of  the 
attack  than  it  was  to  the  right. 

General  Chaffee's  Brigade  began  the  infantry 
fight  by  moving  along  the  extreme  right-  over 
this  higher  ground.  Then  Ludlow's  command 
began  pressing  across  the  low  country  to  the  left, 
both  brigades  moving  forward  in  a  series  of 
rushes.  The  Spanish  intrenchments  stretched 
for  a  considerable  distance  to  the  right  of  the 
stone  fort  so  that  Chaffee's  men  were  exposed  to 
a  heavy  fire  from  the  earthworks.  The  Span 
iards,  too,  had  thrown  out  sharpshooters  all  over 
the  base  and  slope  of  the  El  Caney  hill,  and  as 
our  men  dodged  from  cover  to  cover  in  single 
figures  or  rushed  across  a  clear  space  in  little 
groups,  the  men  in  the  trenches  fired  by  platoon 
and  the  sharpshooters  picked  off  the  advancing 
men. 

For  a  long  time,  that  is  for  what  seemed  to 
them  a  long  time,  Chaffee's  men,  while  making 
their  advance,  had  found  themselves  shot  down 
and  wounded  by  a  fire  that  came  from  the  left, 
and  they  had  begun  to  imagine  that  they  were 
exposed  to  Ludlow's  fire  from  down  the  swale, 
when  they  discovered  a  masked,  or  rather,  half- 
hidden  blockhouse,  on  one  of  the  spurs  of  the 
El  Caney  hill.  It  was  found,  too,  to  be  a  place 
of  extreme  strength  against  an  infantry  attack, 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  139 

being  made  of  double  thicknesses  of  pine  plank 
ing  with  the  intramural  space  filled  with  a  lining 
of  gravel  and  with  earth  heaped  up  around  the 
base  to  a  height  of  several  feet,  just  above  which 
embankment  were  narrow  slits  for  the  riflemen. 
Eifle  pits  also  surrounded  it,  and  around  the 
rifle  pits  was  a  maze  of  barbed  wire. 

General  Chaffee  sent  word  to  Captain  Capron  of 
the  discovery  of  the  block  house  and  a  n'eldpiece 
was  moved  to  a  hillock  where  it  could  be 
trained  on  this  Spanish  pest  hole,  but  the  range 
was  found  to  be  too  great,  and  as  Chaffee 's  men 
at  that  time  were  swarming  about  the  block 
house,  the  cannon  was  called  back.  The  taking 
of  this  blockhouse  had  occupied  so  much  time 
that  our  men  to  the  left  had  moved  well  forward 
to  the  edge  of  the  swale  before  Chaffee  was  free, 
and  the  morning  had,  indeed,  well  advanced  be 
fore  the  division  occupied  anything  like  a  well- 
defined  attacking  line  all  around  El  Caney. 

The  Seventh  was  really  the  first  regiment  to 
get  into  commanding  line;  then  came  the  Seven 
teenth,  while,  little  by  little,  through  groves  of 
royal  palms  and  mango  trees,  over  slippery  trails 
and  by  short  cuts  in  the  jungle ;  across  gulches 
and  through  the  high  Cuban  grass  the  Twelfth, 
Twenty-second,  and  Twenty-fifth  got  into  line, 
then  the  Second  Massachusetts,  and  so  on,  one 


110  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

regiment  after  another,  until  the  long  line  of  blue- 
shirted  and  brown-hatted  men  was  stretched  out, 
and  the  long-range  rifle  fight  of  Mauser  against 
Krag-Jorgonsen  and  Springfield  was  fairly  on. 

Foot  by  foot  and  rush  by  rush  our  men  ad 
vanced  closer  and  closer,  while  the  fire  from  the 
Spanish  trenches  and  fortifications  grew  heavier 
and  heavier.  The  men  mostly  crept  along  on 
hands  and  knees,  or  wriggled  from  point  to 
point,  but  the  officers  led  their  commands  with 
out  any  attempt  at  cover,  and  in  this  way  did 
their  share  toward  contributing  to  the  great 
mortality  among  the  leaders  which  characterized 
the  campaign.  As  the  Seventeenth,  for  instance, 
moved  to  close  up  the  gap  in  the  line  between  it 
and  the  Seventh,  Lieutenant-Colonel  J.  H.  Has- 
kell  led  the  way.  It  was  across  an  open  field, 
and  as  Haskell  stepped  out  erect  into  the  open 
space  in  the  first  line  he  fell.  Lieutenant  Dick 
inson  ran  ahead  and  was  also  fatally  wounded. 
It  was  in  the  advance  across  this  open  country, 
too,  that  the  men  suffered  most  severely. 

In  fact,  for  the  time,  it  was  found  impossible 
to  further  advance,  and  there  the  Seventh  and 
Seventeenth  lay  under  fire  for  about  six  hours. 
They  poured  their  volleys  into  the  Spanish 
breastworks,  but  apparently  without  effect;  and, 
though  the  Spaniards  could  be  plainly  seen, 


The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

something  seemed  to  be  wrong  in  our  range, 
while  the  Spaniards  were  perfectly  posted  on  the 
triangulation  of  every  foot  of  land.  The  Spring 
field  muskets  of  the  Second  Massachusetts  were 
even  more  than  ineffectual  at  this  long-distance 
fight,  and  made  so  much  smoke  that  twice  they 
were  ordered  to  cease  firing.  Close  to  the 
Second  Massachusetts  were  lined  out  the  Twelfth 
and  Twenty-fifth  regulars,  but  though  by  dint  of 
incessantly  dropping  his  shells  on  the  fort  Cap- 
ron  had  succeeded  in  knocking  out  its  corner 
bastions  and  rendering  it  comparatively  innoc 
uous,  and  though  the  fire  of  the  Krag-Jorgen- 
sens  was  concentrated  from  all  along  our  lines  of 
regulars  on  the  Spanish  breastworks  in  a  fierce 
continuous  rattle,  still  the  Spaniards  kept  up 
their  volleys,  while  their  Mauser  bullets  actually 
clipped  off  the  grass  tops  which  fell  in  showers 
on  our  men  as  though  a  mower  were  at  work  and 
chopped  off  twigs  and  branches  in  the  trees  above 
them  as  though  a  prunerwere  busy  there.  There 
seemed  no  possibility  of  cleaning  out  or  silencing 
the  trenches  except  by  an  advance  in  which 
decimation  was  the  prospect,  and  as  the  hours 
wore  on  El  Caney,  which  was  to  have  been  ours 
by  a  sharp  and  brilliant  dash  made  before  noon, 
was  as  bristling  and  defiant  as  ever.  It  was. 


142  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

spoken  of  ns  "  The  Wasp's  Nest,"  and  well  de 
served  its  name. 

But  our  men  crept  doggedly  on  and,  when 
the  long  string  of  wounded  made  a  continuous 
procession  to  the  rear  and  the  dead  about  them 
grew  hourly  in  numbers,  they  only  pressed  on 
the  fiercer.  What  at  times  changed  the  fierce 
ness  of  our  men  to  a  condition  of  actual  frenzy 
was  when  the  sharpshooters  who  had  crept 
through  gaps  in  our  lines  or  had  been  hidden  in 
the  trees  before  our  advance  was  made,  fired  for 
very  wantonness  upon  our  wounded  and  upon 
the  Red  Cross  men  carrying  them  from  the  field. 
To  be  shot  at  themselves  was  what  our  men  ex 
pected,  because  to  shoot  and  to  be  shot  was  their 
business,  but  when  the  surgeons  and  hospital 
stewards  toppled  over,  the  volunteers  fairly 
screeched  with  rage,  while  the  regulars  moved 
forward  another  foot  and  sent  another  bullet  into 
the  trenches. 

Finally  the  swale  was  crossed  and  the  attack 
ing  line  was  all  around  El  Caney's  hillside. 
Then  it  was  seen  that  the  chief  source  of  our 
slaughter  lay  in  a  breastwork  which  had  been  run 
around  the  very  edge  of  the  village,  extending 
from  one  building  to  another,  with  extensions  at 
right  angles  down  the  slope  of  the  hill.  As 
has  been  said,  the  stone  fort  stood  on  a  separate 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  143 

hill  with  the  village  in  a  hollow  beneath,  and 
along  the  sides  of  this  hill,  too,  trenches  and 
breastworks  had  been  run  out  at  right  angles  so 
that  shots  from  these  could  almost  rake  the  whole 
length  of  our  advancing  line  on  the  right. 

Slowly  our  lines  crept  forward,  and  upward, 
regiment  after  regiment  dashing  across  open 
spaces  and  seeking  cover  in  the  thickets  which 
dotted  the  slopes  of  the  suburb.  "When  the  term 
"regiment  after  regiment"  is  used  it  must  not 
be  understood  as  implying  well-preserved  regi 
mental  formation.  Under  the  new  condition  of 
things,  caused  by  the  long-range  rapid-fire 
weapons,  it  has  been  found  wisest  to  scatter  the 
forces  so  as  not  to  subject  troops  to  great  loss  by 
massing  them,  and  at  the  same  time  to  draw  the 
fire  of  the  enemy  in  a  widely  radiated  direction. 
Even  had  not  this  new  order  of  things  been  in 
existence  as  a  codified  plan  of  action,  the  nature 
of  the  ground  over  which  our  troops  had  to  move 
here  would  have  rendered  even  a  battalion  for 
mation  impossible.  The  Spaniards,  it  is  repeated, 
knew  the  exact  location  of  all  the  roads  and  paths 
and  had  the  range  perfectly,  while  our  men  as 
they  advanced  had  to  feel  their  way  cautiously 
over  rough  and  unfamiliar  ground. 

Bravely  as  the  dashes  were  made  it  was  bitter 
and  deadly  work  for  our  men  and  officers.  If  our 


144  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  * 

fighting  was  stubborn  the  resistance  of  the  Span 
iards  was  determined.  Then,  as  though  to  add 
to  the  exactions  of  the  day,  at  the  verjr  moment 
when  things  were  at  their  worst  at  El  Caney,  the 
division  commander  at  San  Juan  sent  over  to 
know  if  proceedings  could  not  be  hurried  or 
abandoned  so  as  to  aid  in  the  assault  on  San 
Juan.  Before  giving  a  reply,  the  courier  from 
the  center  was  taken  down  the  line  from  Ludlow, 
on  the  extreme  left,  past  Miles'  brigade  and 
Bates'  independent  brigade  to  Chaffee's  position 
at  the  extreme  right,  all  four  brigades  having 
been  drawn  into  action  by  the  tenacit}*  of  the 
defense.  The  proposition  of  virtually  calling  off 
his  men  and  abandoning  the  results  of  a  desperate 
half-day's  work  was  laid  before  General  Lawton, 
and  he  at  once  decided  not  to  quit.  Instead,  and 
as  though  driven  to  desperation,  word  was  sent 
all  along  the  line  that  the  trenches  had  to  be 
taken  and  taken  at  once.  And  it  was  done  in 
thirty  minutes. 

Captain  Haskell,  of  the  Twelfth  Infantry,  led 
the  assault,  his  long  white  beard  flying  out  be 
hind  him  as  he  rushed  forward.  Far  around  to 
the  left  General  Ludlow,  with  his  white  sailor 
hat  stuck  on  the  back  of  his  head,  galloped  along 
the  front  and  bade  his  men  follow.  His  horse 
was  killed  under  him,  but  afoot  he  pushed  on, 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  U5 

gloriously  swinging  his  ridiculous  little  hat  in 
his  hand  and  still  shouting  to  his  men  to  come 
on.  Two  leaped  out  of  cover  and  were  shot  down. 
The  Twelfth  and  Twenty-fifth  were  almost  de 
prived  of  their  officers  in  the  rush.  Lieutenant 
McCorkle  was  killed  and  Captain  Lawards  and 
Lieutenant  Murdock  fell  wounded,  the  disable 
ment  among  the  officers  being  so  great  that  at 
one  time  Lieutenant  Moss  found  himself  com 
manding  two  companies.  The  Second  Massa 
chusetts  struggled  into  the  line  of  assault  and 
Lieutenant  Field  was  instantly  killed.  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel  Patterson,  of  the  Twenty-second,  was 
badly  wounded  and  had  to  be  sent  to  the  rear, 
but  there  was  no  wavering  among  his  men. 

At  last,  after  dodging  from  tree  to  brush  and 
from  brush  to  gully  with  Capron's  guns  banging 
away  and  the  Spanish  Mausers  volleying  inces- 
sently,  the  first  of  the  assaulting  lines  was  actually 
formed  under  a  group  of  trees  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill.  Then  with  a  yell  the  troops,  black  and 
white  and  brown  shot  up  the  hillside,  slashed 
dowrn  the  wire  fences  and  were  in  the  trenches 
and  had  the  fort.  They  were  practically  open 
graves  and  were  filled  with  dead  men. 

Between  the  fort  and  the  village  stood  a  block 
house,  and  as  the  living  Spanish  soldiers  leaped 
out  from  among  the  dead  Spanish  soldiers  in  the 


146  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

trenches  and  made  for  the  blockhouse,  our  men 
who  were  now  swarming  up  over  the  ridge  of  the 
hill  shot  them  as  they  ran,  while  those  who  had 
taken  the  fort  joined  in  the  slaughter. 

Horrible  as  were  the  trenches  the  fort  was  as 
bad.  As  Captain  Haskell,  with  Captain  Clark 
just  behind  him,  and  their  men  pressing  all 
around  them,  carried  the  fort,  they  found  ample 
and  awful  evidence  of  the  murderous  work  done  by 
our  fire  and  of  the  stubborn  holding  out  against  it. 
Out  of  the  entire  garrison  but  one  Spanish  officer 
and  four  men  were  alive.  Seven  lay  dead  in  one 
small  room  and  forty  bodies  were  scattered  along 
the  shooting  ways,  the  walls  were  shattered,  the 
floors  ran  blood  and  the  walls  were  splashed  with 
it.  Just  as  the  fort  was  captured  some  fleeing 
Spaniard  turned  half-round  and  lodged  a  bullet 
in  the  arm  of  Mr.  James  Creelman.  He,  like 
Mr.  Marshall,  was  a  Journal  correspondent,  and 
like  Mr.  Marshall  had  esteemed  it  his  duty  to  be 
in  the  thick  of  the  fight. 

With  the  fort  and  trenches  in  our  possession 
the  blockhouse  was  soon  taken,  and  our  men  were 
scampering  after  the  Spaniards  as  they  fled  down 
into  the  village.  Of  the  Spaniards  who  had  tried 
to  seek  shelter  in  the  blockhouse  as  they  ran 
from  the  trenches  but  few  escaped,  so  deadly  was 
the  fire  of  our  men  as  they  steadied  themselves 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  147 

after  the  rush  up  the  hillside  and  brought  down 
their  men  with  the  accuracy  born  of  long  target 
practice ;  and  somehow  or  other  when  the  block 
house  was  reached  nearly  all  of  the  Spaniards  who 
had  succeeded  in  getting  into  that  shelter  were 
found  dead,  victims  to  the  bull's-eye  accuracy  of 
our  men  as  they  drove  their  Krag-Jorgensen  bul 
lets  through  the  loopholes  at  the  Spaniards  be 
hind  them. 

It  was  a  weary  set  of  men  who  found  them 
selves  victorious  at  the  top  of  the  El  Caney  hill, 
but  there  was  lots  of  fight  and  fume  in  some  of 
them  yet,  and  these  rushed  into  the  town  in  order 
to  bring  down  or  round  up  a  few  more  of  the 
Spaniards.  It  was  ugly  work,  for  the  town  or 
village — and  a  pretty,  quiet-looking  village  it 
looked  from  the  top  of  the  hill,  with  its  red-tiled 
houses  and  mauresque  church — proved  to  be  a 
death  trap.  Its  streets  were  festooned  with 
barbed  wire,  the  space  between  the  pillars  of  the 
houses  had  been  turned  into  forts  by  filling  them 
breast  high  with  stonework  and  across  the  roads 
had  been  placed  barricades  of  fascines  made  by 
filling  empty  wine  barrels  with  earth.  But  there 
was  no  fight  left  in  the  Spaniards  now,  and  from 
houses  and  corners  the  soldiers  crawled  out  in 
squads  and  surrendered  to  the  number  of  one 


148  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  ' 

hundred  and  fifty-eight.  So,  with  the  afternoon 
sun  well  down  was  El  Cauey  won. 

The  opposing  forces,  counting  the  relative 
character  of  the  positions,  were  in  number  about 
equal.  The  Spaniards,  with  their  usual  power  of 
minimizing  defeat,  claimed  that  the  defense  of  El 
Caney  was  made  by  six  hundred  men,  but  it  was 
later  found  that  the  garrison  actually  numbered 
over  seventeen  hundred  men.  But  whatever 
their  number,  they  fought  to  the  death  and  held 
back  Lawton  for  more  than  nine  awful  hours.  It 
was  nearly  seven  in  the  morning  when  Captain 
Capron  fired  his  first  gun,  and  it  was  five  o'clock 
before  El  Caney  fell. 

The  fighting  had  been  hard  and  hot  all  day. 
Though  there  had  not  been  much  steady  march 
ing,  our  men  had  been  alert,  and  on  the  move  all 
the  day  under  a  broiling  sun.  The  water  in 
their  canteens  was  soon  consumed,  and  the  hunt 
for  streams  and  pools  was  a  long  and  dolorous 
one. 

The  long-killing  range  of  the  Mauser  rifle  and 
the  fact  that  the  entire  battlefield  was  the  zone 
of  fire  was  one  of,  if  not  the  greatest,  trial  to  the 
nerves  of  the  men  at  El  Canej'.  Troopers  a  mile 
behind  our  firing  line  were  killed.  As  the  Fourth 
Infantry,  for  instance,  was  marching  to  the  aid 
of  General  Ludlow's  Brigade,  First  Sergeant 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  149 

Kirby  was  shot  squarely  through  the  heart  al 
though  the  distance  from  the  front  was  over  a 
mile.  The  consequence,  apart  from  the  trial 
to  the  spirit  of  the  men  which  is  the  natural  out 
come  of  being  killed  by  unseen  enemies,  was  that 
when  night  came  our  dead  and  dying  were 
scattered  over  the  country  for  miles.  The  Span 
ish  prisoners  were  set  to  work  burying  their  own 
dead  while  the  freshest  of  our  men  went  back  on 
the  quest  for  their  fallen  comrades.  The  rest  of 
the  weary  troops  were  gathered  up  as  best  they 
might  be,  and  during  the  night  they  got  about 
three  hours  of  fitful  napping.  At  night  the 
Cuban  support,  which  had  done  little  more  than 
scouting  duty  during  the  day,  moved  out  to  take 
a  further  position  to  the  westward  of  Santiago, 
and  all  night  long  men  who  had  lost  their  com 
mands  were  straggling  into  the  companionship 
of  their  companies,  which  for  the  moment  meant 
their  home.  Capron's  men  threw  themselves 
beside  the  guns  which  they  had  been  working  all 
day. 

Then,  notwithstanding  all  their  fierce  work  on 
the  previous  day,  when  early  morning  came, 
General  Lawton,  leaving  a  garrison  at  El  Caney, 
moved  across  country  to  help  to  strengthen 
Kent's  line  about  San  Juan. 

If  the  American  soldiers  were  impressed  with 


150  The  Fall  of  Santiago  « 

the  desperate  stubbornness  of  their  Spanish  op 
ponents,  it  is  also  on  record  that  the  Spaniards 
were  amazed  at  the  brilliant  courage  of  our 
men.  One  of  the  few  surviving  Spanish  officers  of 
the  battle  of  El  Caney,  an  aid  on  General  Vara  del 
Eey 's  staff,  and  present  at  the  death  of  that  officer, 
has  related  his  impressions  of  the  engagement. 
The  narrative,  which  is  told  in  the  officer's  own 
words,  gives  the  Spanish  view — somewhat  fan 
tastic  in  certain  particulars — of  one  of  the  hard 
est-fought  battles  of  the  war.  The  narrator  says : 

* 'Brigadier-General  Joaquin  Vara  del  Eey,  in 
command  of  the  brigade  of  San  Luis,  composed 
of  three  companies  of  the  Twent37-ninth  regulars, 
numbering  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  men  and 
forty-seven  guerrillas,  was  ordered  by  General 
Linares  to  proceed  from  San  Luis  to  Santiago, 
there  to  reinforce  the  garrison  in  the  city. 

"We  left  San  Luis  on  June  23,  marched  to  El 
Pozo,  and  thence  to  Santiago,  where  we  stayed 
forty-eight  hours,  when  we  were  ordered  out  to 
El  Caney  to  strengthen  the  left  flank  of  the 
Spanish  lines.  We  arrived  there  on  the  28th,  in 
the  evening,  after  an  uneventful  march. 

"On  the  afternoon  of  the  30th  wo  noticed  a 
balloon  ascending  in  the  air,  where  it  remained 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  After  its  descent  we 
saw  the  enemy  pick  up  their  tents  and  move  their 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  151 

camp,  but  as  the  night  was  falling  we  were  un 
able  to  locate  their  new  position,  although  we 
guessed  at  it  pretty  correctly. 

"We  hurriedly  dug  trenches  about  three  feet 
deep,  in  which  the  men  fired  kneeling. 

"We  worked  at  the  trenches  and  breastworks 
all  through  the  night,  assigned  the  men  to  their 
posts  and  placed  thirty  regulars  in  the  fort  or 
blockhouse  known  as  El  Paraiso,  fearing  a  sur 
prise  from  the  enemy. 

"Our  fears  proved  only  too  well  grounded,  for 
at  daybreak  the  next  morning,  July  1,  the  first 
shell  from  the  enemy 's  guns  fell  in  the  town. 

"The  Americans  simultaneously  opened  with 
four  rapid-fire  guns  and  kept  up  a  volcanic  fire 
until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  We  had  no 
artillery  with  which  to  reply,  and  soon  realized 
that  we  had  the  fight  of  our  lives  on  our  hands. 
All  the  ammunition  we  had  was  twelve  mule 
loads  of  eight  cases  each. 

"The  enemy's  fire  was  incessant,  and  we  an 
swered  with  equal  rapidity.  I  have  never  seen 
anything  to  equal  the  courage  and  dash  of  those 
Americans,  who,  stripped  to  the  waist,  offering 
their  naked  breasts  to  our  murderous  fire,  liter 
ally  threw  themselves  on  our  trenches  on  the  very 
muzzles  of  our  guns. 

"Our  execution  must  have  been  terrible.     We 


152  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  " 

had  the  advantage  of  our  position  and  mowed  them 
down  by  the  hundreds,  but  they  never  retreated 
nor  fell  back  an  inch.  As  one  man  fell,  shot 
through  the  heart,  another  would  take  his  place 
with  grim  determination  and  unflinching  devo 
tion  to  duty  in  every  line  of  his  face. 

"Their  gallantry  was  heroic.  We  wondered  at 
these  men,  who  fought  like  lions  and  fell  like 
men  courting  a  wholesale  massacre,  which  could 
well  have  been  avoided  had  they  only  kept  up 
their  firing  without  storming  our  trenches. 

"Our  stock  of  ammunition  was  dwindling  fast, 
•we  were  losing  rapidly,  and  were  fighting  the 
battle  of  despair,  the  inevitable  staring  us  in  the 
face.  General  Vara  del  Rey  was  standing  in  the 
square  opposite  the  church  when  word  was 
brought  him  that  the  last  round  had  been  served 
to  the  men.  This  was  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon. 

"He  at  once  gave  the  order  to  retreat,  crying 
to  his  men,  'Salvese  quien  pueda!' 

"Hardly  had  he  given  the  order  before  he  fell 
shot  through  both  legs.  One  of  his  aids,  Lieu 
tenant  Joaquin  Dominguez,  turned  to  the  general 
as  he  fell,  exclaiming :  'General,  what  slaughter!' 
A  bullet  took  the  top  clean  off  his  skull,  killing 
him  on  the  spot. 

"In  the  meantime  I  had  secured  a  stretcher 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  153 

and  ordered  four  men  to  place  the  general  in  it 
and  carry  him  to  a  place  of  safety.  Bullets  were 
\vhizzing  past  us  and  falling  like  hail  all  around. 
It  seemed  that  fate  was  against  us.  As  they 
placed  him  in  the  stretcher  General  Yara  delEey 
was  shot  through  the  head  and  killed. 

"All  four  litter-bearers  were  shot  and  Lieuten 
ant  Antonio  Vara  del  Rey,  a  brother  and  aid  to 
the  general,  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner. 
Earlier  in  the  day  Majors  Aguero  and  Aragon, 
both  on  the  general's  staff,  had  also  been  killed. 
Beside  these,  ten  other  officers  were  shot,  and 
we  had  two  hundred  and  thirty  men  killed  and 
wounded. 

"At  General  Vara  del  Key's  death  all  took 
flight,  running  down  the  hill  and  toward  the 
woods  and  underbrush,  in  a  mad  effort  to  get 
away  with  their  lives. 

"Toward  evening  small  bands  of  straggling, 
worn-out  soldiers  began  to  arrive  in  Santiago, 
and  at  half-past  eight  o'clock  that  night  Colonel 
Punet  came  in  with  one  hundred  and  three  men 
whom  he  had  been  able  to  rally  and  bring  into 
the  city  in  some  sort  of  order. 

"None  of  the  blockhouses  in  the  surrounding 
country  was  engaged  that  day,  but  in  the  early 
morning  a  shell  from  the  American  lines  fell  in 


154  The  Fall  of  Santiago,  * 

the  San  Miguel  blockhouse,  setting  it  on  fire  and 
killing  seven  men. 

"We  estimated  the  enemy's  forces  engaged  at 
El  Caney  on  July  1  at  three  thousand  men  and 
their  artillery  at  four  rapid-fire  guns. 

"It  was  the  hardest  fighting  I  have  ever  seen 
or  ever  care  to  see.  The  brilliancy  and  daring 
of  the  American  attack  was  only  equaled  by  the 
coolness  and  stubbornness  of  the  Spanish 
defense. 

"The  report  that  the  body  of  General  Vara  del 
Key  had  never  been  recovered  is  untrue.  It  was 
buried  by  the  American  troops  and  his  grave  was 
marked  with  a  wooden  cross.  A  decoration 
found  on  his  breast  was  unpinned  and  later 
handed  to  General  Toral  by  General  Shafter." 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  155 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

HOW   SAN   JUAN    WAS    STOEMED    AND    TAKEN. 

THE  first  part  of  the  battle  of  San  Juan  was  a 
muddle ;  the  second  part  was  a  glory. 

Between  the  battles  at  El  Caney  and  San  Juan 
there  were  many  salient  points  of  similarity. 
In  each  case  it  was  a  fortified  and  intrenched  hill 
that  had  to  be  attacked  by  our  men ;  in  each  case 
the  battle  was  opened  with  an  artillery  duel ;  in 
each  case  the  difficulties  of  the  country  prevented 
the  ready  deployment  of  our  troops,  and  in  each 
case  the  fight  was  won  by  a  dash  of  men  in  which 
individual  grit  more  than  compensated  for  the 
absence  of  brigade  tactics  or  orders.  In  the 
case  of  San  Juan,  however,  all  of  these  factors 
were  accentuated  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 

San  Juan  hill  is  a  veritable  Gibraltar.  It 
sharply  rises  a  bare,  rocky,  steep-sided  ridge 
from  out — to  preserve  the  figure  of  speech — a  sea 
of  meadow  land  which  lies  all  around  its  base, 
except  on  that  side  which  faces  Santiago.  This 
meadow  land,  locally  called  a 'Paradise,'  is  about 


156  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

a  third  of  a  mile  wide  and  is  broken  in  its  expanse 
of  tall  entangling  grass  by  these  three  objects :  To 
the  left,  supposing  one  had  marched  up  the  road 
from  Siboney,  a  small  green  knoll;  to  the  right,  a 
shallow  pool  or  lagoon ;  between  the  lagoon  and 
the  road,  another  knoll  somewhat  higher  than 
that  to  the  left  and  surmounted  by  a  pretty  tiled- 
roof  country  seat,  Looking  at  the  San  Juan 
hill  from  across  the  meadow  land  it  would  seem  to 
be  a  clear  rising,  unbroken  elevation,  but  a 
closer  inspection  of  it  would  show  that  its  surface 
was  broken  into  a  number  of  subsidiary  ridges. 
On  the  topmost  of  these  ridges  was  a  large  broad- 
eaved  hacienda  or  farmhouse. 

The  commanding  qualities  of  this  farmhouse 
the  Spanish  engineers  were  quick  to  perceive,  and 
the  dwelling  was  easily  transformed  into  a  strong 
hold  by  piling  up  broken  stone  between  the  pil 
lars  of  the  piazza  and  by  cutting  loopholes  in  the 
walls  of  the  house  after  the  fashion  found  at  El 
Caney  and  according  to  the  plan  generally  de 
scribed  in  the  chapter  dwelling  on  the  march  of 
the  men  to  the  front.  Close  to  the  house  stood  a 
shed  and  this  also  had  been  transformed  into  an 
improvised  fort.  Along  the  extreme  crest  of  the 
hill,  facing  the  meadow  land,  the  Spanish  engi 
neers  had  dug  a  line  of  trenches  in  which  the 
Spanish  rifleman  might  stand  and  shoot  down 


Copyright  by  Mail  and  Express. 


Looking  across  the  meadow  land  to  the  San  Juan   Hill — T) 
Rough  Riders  dashed  in  their  assault — To  the  let 


ier  in  the  foreground  is  pointing  to  the  lagoon  across  which  the 
:n  a  wind  of  the  road  from  Siboney  to  Santiago. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  157 

an3r  living  thing  that  ventured  to  cross  the  'Para 
dise*  without  any  danger  to  himself.  Back  of 
the  hacienda  was  a  dip,  then  a  rise,  and  on  the 
top  of  this  rise  had  been  built  one  of  the  charac 
teristic  Spanish  blockhouses,  before  which  had 
been  dug  a  second  series  of  trenches.  Still  fur 
ther  back  was  another  rise,  another  blockhouse 
and  another  series  of  trenches.  Around  and  in 
front  of  the  San  Juan  hacienda  were  strung 
entanglements  of  barbed  wire;  these  were 
repeated  before  each  of  the  lines  of  trenches  to 
the  rear,  were  strung  across  the  face  of  the  hill, 
stranded  in  the  grass  of  the  valley  and  stretched 
through  the  lagoon. 

Let  us  now  change  our  position  as  onlookers 
and  stand  on  the  San  Juan  hill,  facing  the  road 
from  Siboney.  On  the  other  side  of  the  meadow 
land  which  swept  round  the  base  of  the  hill  would 
be  seen  a  broad  expanse  of  jungle  and  thicket 
which  closed  in  on  the  grassy  level  in  a  well-de 
fined  boundary  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  To 
the  right  the  country  was  hilly,  the  nearest  emi 
nence  being  that  of  El  Poso,  on  whose  top  was 
the  home  of  a  coffee  planter.  In  an  air  line  from 
the  hacienda  on  the  San  Juan  hill  to  that  on  El 
Poso  hill  the  distance  was,  one  would  say,  about 
two  miles.  To  the  left  the  wooded  country 
sloped  down  to  a  moderate  condition  of  plane, 


158  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

while  in  the  distance  were  the  ranges  of  the 
Sierra  Cobre  foothills,  among  whose  mazes  our 
men  had  marched  up  from  the  coast. 

The  lagoon  was  not  the  only  water  in  the 
meadow  land,  for  through  it  swept  a  bend  of  the 
winding  San  Juan  River.  This  bend  of  the  river 
could  be  traced  for  some  distance  to  the  right, 
would  have  to  be  crossed  if  a  man  were  to  walk 
direct  from  San  Juan  to  El  Poso,  and  turned  into 
the  woods  in  about  what  would  be  the  center  of 
the  landscape.  To  the  left  of  where  the  river 
thus  turned  into  the  woods  and  just  back  of  the 
hill  and  blockhouse,  spoken  of  just  now  as  being 
one  of  the  three  breaks  in  the  meadow  land,  the 
main  road  from  the  coast  emerged.  All  about  the 
exit  point  of  the  road  the  timber  and  vegetation 
grew  so  thickly  that  its  line  in  the  woods  could 
not  be  distinguished.  Once  out  in  the  meadow 
land  the  roadway  was  fairly  plain,  as  it  turned 
around  the  end  of  the  lagoon  and  up  the  side  of 
the  San  Juan  hill,  passing  back  of  the  hacienda 
toward  Santiago. 

If  this  description  has  been  written  clearly  and 
has  been  followed  closely  the  reader  will  see  that 
the  San  Juan  hill  stood  as  a  citadel  in  the  path  of 
those  who  passed  to  or  from  Santiago.  It  had  to 
be  taken  before  any  advance  could  be  made  on 
the  city.  It  was  the  Castilian  lion  in  the  path. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  159 

It  will  also  be  seen  that  in  order  to  take  the  San 
Juan  hill  an  advance  would  have  to  be  made  by 
regiments  strung  out  along  the  road  in  the 
woods,  and  that,  in  order  to  attack  the  hill  in  any 
thing  like  formation,  the  troops  would  have  to 
debouch  from  the  wood  roadway  and  then  deploy 
along  the  meadow  land  in  the  full  face  of  the 
Spanish  fire.  It  was  a  task  before  which  a  brave 
man  might  well  recoil,  and  whose  audacity  ap 
pealed  most  strongly  to  the  foreign  military  rep 
resentatives  present.  These  seeing  wrhat  had  to 
be  done  and  what  was  done,  wrote  it  down  as  an 
achievement  of  personal  bravery  before  which 
the  word  impregnable  was  but  an  empty  sound, 
and  as  one  of  the  most  astonishing  examples  of 
successful  mistakes.  In  a  word,  it  was  the  as 
sault  by  infantry  of  a  stronghold  which  should 
only  have  been  reduced  by  artillery. 

In  meeting  the  problem  thus  presented  to  him, 
Brigadier-General  J.  Ford  Kent,  in  command  of 
the  First  Division,  decided,  naturally,  that  there 
were  only  two  things  to  do — post  what  little  artil 
lery  he  had  on  El  Poso  hill,  push  his  infantry  as 
rapidly  as  possible  up  the  road  through  the  woods 
to  the  meadow  land,  and  under  partial  cover 
of  the  artillery  fire  and  the  support  of  Lawton's 
men  returning  from  El  Caney,  throw  out  his  men 
into  open  order  and  carry  the  hill.  This  was 


160  The  Fall  of  Santiago.* 

done,  though  it  was  not  done  just  as  Kent  had 
planned  it  should  be.  The  troops  in  his  division 
were  these : 

First  Brigade,  General  Hawkins,  Sixteenth  and 
Sixth  regulars  and  Seventy-first  N.  Y.  V. 

Second  Brigade,  General  Pearson,  Tenth, 
Twenty-first  and  Second,  all  regulars. 

Third  Brigade,  General  Wikoff,  Ninth, 
Thirteenth  and  Thirty-fourth,  all  regulars. 

Beside  these  he  was  assisted  by  General 
Wheeler's  cavalry  division,  dismounted,  consist 
ing  of  the  First,  Ninth,  and  Tenth,  regulars,  and 
the  Rough  Eiders. 

The  artillery  was  under  charge  of  Captain 
Grimes,  his  battery  going  into  position  and  pre 
paring  its  gun-pits  close  to  the  ruins  of  the  El 
Poso  farmhouse  on  the  night  of  June  30. 

The  morning  was  still  and  hot,  hot  with  a  trop 
ical  intensity,  the  meadow  lands  below  being  full 
of  mist  while  the  blue  of  the  sky  had  a  coppery 
tinge.  The  little  dismantled  ranch  house  with  its 
tiled  roof  and  rusted  bell  were  just  below 
Grimes'  battery,  and,  barring  this  battery,  the 
whole  scene  was  as  innocent  as  a  picture.  Not  a 
man  could  be  seen  at  San  Juan,  and  there  was  not 
a  sound  from  the  right  to  indicate  that  up 
through  the  woods  there  was  being  pushed  along 
winding  column  of  American  soldiers.  At 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  161 

twenty  minutes  to  seven,  Grimes,  who  had  the 
bespectacled  air  of  a  professor,  gave  the  com 
mand  to  fire,  and  our  first  shell  went  flying  toward 
San  Juan.  Wherever  it  struck  it  did  no  damage 
and  a  few  others  were  fired,  not  so  much  with 
a  view  of  demolishing  the  fortified  farmhouse  as  to  I 
find  the  enemy.  He  was  found  after  ten  shots, 
his  answer  coming  in  the  shape  of  a  muffled  re 
port  from  the  hill  and  the  hissing  flight  of  a  five- 
inch  shrapnel  shell  which  burst  high  in  the  air. 
It  was  a  good  line  fire  and  the  reserves  were 
ordered  into  cover,  but  Grimes,  like  a  very  fierce 
professor  now,  kept  his  position  and  his  com 
mand  to  "aim"  and  "fire"  went  on  as  steadily  as 
the  ticking  of  a  sedate  clock  on  a  farmhouse 
stairway.  So  the  give  and  take  of  the  artillery 
part  of  the  engagement  proceeded  until  suddenly 
the  Spanish  fire  ceased.  But  while  it  had  lasted 
it  had  been  deadly,  for  three  of  our  artillerymen 
had  been  killed;  three  sergeants  and  a  corporal 
of  the  battery  had  been  wounded;  in  a  dip  under 
the  hill  twelve  Cubans  had  been  torn  by  the 
shrapnel,  and  in  the  wood  road  there  had  been 
terrible  havoc.  To  that  wood  road  it  is  now  time 
to  turn. 

At  nightfall  of  June  30  the  three  brigades 
bivouacked  along  the  San  Juan  road  around 
Sevilla.  They  were  up  by  daybreak,  and  about 


162  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

the  time  when  Grimes  began  his  battery  fire 
Hawkins,  with  the  First  Brigade,  had  reached  that 
part  of  the  road  where  it  was  crossed  by  the  San 
Juan  Kiver,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  to 
the  right  of  El  Poso  hill.  This  river  rises  in  the 
hills  northeast  of  Santiago  and  follows  a  devious 
way  under  various  local  names  down  to  the  coast 
where  it  empties  into  the  sea  at  Aguadores. 

In  its  course  its  affluents  cross  the  road  from 
Siboney  to  San  Juan  several  times,  its  course 
being  so  belooped  in  the  neighborhood  of  San 
Juan  that  our  troops  had  to  ford  it  twice  within 
a  mile.  The  first  of  these  crossings  was  that 
already  referred  to  as  being  near  El  Poso,  and 
the  second  was  close  up  to  the  edge  of  the  woods, 
where  the  forest  ended  and  the  meadow  land 
began.  Torrential  stream  as  it  is,  it  always 
carries  a  considerable  body  of  water  spread  over 
the  large  area  usually  occupied  by  streams  that 
are  accustomed  to  sudden  accessions  and  diminu 
tions,  being  full  of  gravel  bars  and  water  pits. 
The  river  was  really  the  road  maker,  for  the  road 
was  drawn  across  the  river  wherever  a  ford  was 
found. 

Hawkins  was  moving  smartly  along  the  road 
and  would  have  crossed  both  fords  and  have  been 
at  the  debouche  of  the  road  into  the  meadow  land 
had  not  the  division  commander  (Kent)  received 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  163 

orders  from  headquarters  to  give  right  of  way  to 
the  cavalry  which  had  been  posted  back  of  El 
Poso  hill.  The  infantry  was  accordingly  halted, 
and  as  the  cavalry  came  up  the  road  and  also 
halted  at  the  first  ford  when  it  got  there,  the  first 
of  the  series  of  congestions  which  marked  the 
gathering  of  the  troops  along  the  road  thus  took 
place.  When  the  cavalry  crossed  the  first  ford 
and  moved  forward,  Hawkins,  seeing  that  his 
men  were  suffering  severely  from  the  Spanish 
fire,  decided  to  move  his  men  along  as  quickly 
as  possible,  and  therefore  ordered  them  to  push 
alongside  the  cavalry,  and  this  they  did,  so  that 
Wheeler's  division  and  the  head  of  Hawkins* 
division  were  at  this  time  marching  in  parallel 
lines,  sometimes  by  file  and  sometimes  two 
abreast.  In  such  a  movement  of  troops,  even 
were  the  exigencies  of  travel  alone  to  be  con 
sidered,  anything  like  distinct  regimental  segre 
gation  would  soon  have  been  imperiled;  but 
when  to  these  moving,  crossing,  mingling  lines 
of  men  along  a  wood  road  were  added  the 
deadly  and  pestiferous  attacks  of  the  Spanish 
riflemen  and  artillerists,  the  impossibility  of 
keeping  the  regiments  distinct  can  readily  be 
understood. 

It  had  been  expected,  or  at  least  hoped,  that  the 
attentions  of  Grimes'  battery  would   keep   the 


164:  The  Fall  of  Santiago.* 

batteries  and  trenches  at  San  Juan  sufficiently 
employed  to  allow  our  men  to  advance  up  the 
road  with  only  a  moderate  loss.  The  contrary 
was,  however,  the  case  and  it  was  due  principally 
to  two  causes — an  experiment  on  our  side  and  the 
Spanish  sharpshooters. 

If  any  point  has  been  dwelt  on  in  this  history 
it  has  been  that  of  attempting  to  show  that  the 
march  from  the  sea  to  Santiago  was  for  the  most 
part  through  roads  which  were  so  bordered  with 
forest  and  thickets  of  underbrush  that,  except 
when  on  an  eminence,  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  see  beyond  the  turn  of  the  raad  or  to  form 
any  idea  of  what  danger  lurked  in  the  tangles  on 
either  side.  The  consideration  of  hidden  foes  and 
attacks  from  ambush  were  always  in  the  hearts  of 
the  men,  if  not  always  in  the  plans  of  the  leaders. 
The  same  clever  tactics  and  intimate  local  knowl 
edge  which  were  shown  by  the  Spaniards  at  El 
Caney,  La  Guasima  and  Guantanamo  were  shown 
here  with  extreme  emphasis.  The  Spaniards  who 
knew  that  the  San  Juan  hill  commanded  the  way 
to  Santiago  knew  also  every  foot  of  the  region 
roundabout.  They  were  aware  of  the  natural 
obstacles  to  advance,  the  turns  of  the  river  and 
the  sharp  outlet  on  to  the  meadow  land  and  to 
these  natural  obstacles  had  added  the  active  fight 
ing  one  of  sharpshooters  in  the  trees.  It  has  been 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  165 

noted  that  this  irregular  branch  of  the  service 
was  found  to  be  a  favorite  one  with  the  Spanish 
strategj"  all  during  the  Santiago  campaign,  but  it 
was  used  with  unusual  freedom  around  San  Juan. 

Every  tree  from  whose  branches  a  turn  of  the 
road  could  be  seen  or  guessed  at  seemed  to  hold 
a  Spanish  sharpshooter. 

As  these  fellows  used  smokeless  powder  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  locate  them  by  casual  ob 
servation,  and  they  had  concealed  themselves  so 
cleverly  in  the  foliage  that  it  was  sometimes  im 
possible  to  discover  them  by  close  examination. 
As  the  Sixteenth  and  Sixth  regiments  of  Haw- 
kins'  infantry  and  the  cavalrymen  of  Wheeler's 
division  were  bunched  together  along  the  road 
about  the  fords,  the  sharpshooters  in  the  trees 
reaped  an  awful  harvest.  The  bullets  kept  chug 
ging  into  our  ranks  and  the  men  fell  thickly  here 
and  there,  and  all  at  the  hands  of  an  absolutely 
invisible  enemy. 

Men  were  shot  not  only  in  front  and  flank, 
but  from  the  rear,  the  fire  being  practically  all 
around  them.  Not  only  were  the  losses  serious, 
but  the  possible  demoralization  of  the  men  was  a 
still  more  serious  matter,  and  two  companies  of 
colored  troopers,  whose  regimental  number  need 
not  be  given,  were  at  last  ordered  into  the  woods 
as  pot  hunters.  They  were  told  definitely  that  no 


166  The  Fall  of  Santiago.* 

prisoners  were  expected  to  be  brought  in ;  that 
every  Spaniard  found  in  a  tree  was  to  be  killed. 
The  order  was  a  plain,  swift  necessity  and  the 
troopers  set  forward  to  carry  it  out  with  equal 
plainness  and  dispatch.  They  stalked  from  tree 
to  tree  and  wherever  the  ping  of  a  Mauser  was 
heard  or  the  flash  of  a  rifle  seen,  the  colored 
hunter  bagged  his  game. 

The  term  "brought  down"  his  game  can  not  be 
used  for  in  many  cases  after  the  sharpshooter  in 
the  trees  had  been  shot  he  did  not  fall.  An  in 
vestigation  of  this  peculiar  result  showed  that  the 
Spaniard  had  been  tied  up  in  the  tree.  His 
Mauser  would  fall,  but  the  man  would  not.  It 
was  found,  too,  that  the  sharpshooters  were 
generally  well  supplied  with  provisions,  so  that 
the  plan  of  those  who  tied  the  men  in  the  trees 
to  have  them  stay  there  for  some  time  was  clear, 
although  it  was  never  quite  clear  whether  the 
men  had  been  tied  to  the  branches  with  their  own 
consent  or  not.  The  story  obtains,  although  it 
has  not  been  proved,  that  in  many  cases  the  men 
were  tied  by  order  of  the  Spanish  officers  and  so 
tied  that  they  could  not  get  down  even  had  they 
wanted  to.  No  particular  question  was  asked  of 
the  pot  hunters  as  to  their  success,  but  as  they 
were  away  a  long  time,  as  they  had  much  hunting 
ground  to  cover  and  as  the  fire  of  the  sharpshoot- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  167 

ers  certainly  grew  markedly  less,  it  is  to  be  under 
stood  that  the  grirn  hints  which  the  huntsmen 
brought  back  of  ghastly  fruit  left  to  rot  in  manj', 
many  trees  were  founded  on  desperate  but  neces 
sary  fact. 

Our  experiment  was  that  of  a  war  balloon.  It 
was  in  charge  of  the  signal  corps  and  was  sent  up 
under  the  care  of  Lieutenant  Maxfield. 

The  ascension  of  the  balloon  resulted  in  a  bene 
ficial  discovery  and  a  catastrophe.  The  dis 
covery  was  of  a  masked  road  or  trail  which  led 
off  to  the  left  of  the  main  road  near  the  first  ford 
and  by  following  which  a  second  way  of  reach 
ing  the  open  land  could  be  had.  The  catastrophe 
was  that  the  presence  of  the  balloon  was  imme 
diately  divined  by  the  Spanish  leaders  at  San 
Juan  to  indicate  the  position  of  the  troops  and  to 
show  definitely  that  the  Americans  had  reached 
the  upper  part  of  the  road  leading  to  the  mead 
ow  land.  Instantly,  what  shrapnel  had  been 
used  in  reply  to  Grimes'  battery  was  deflected  to 
the  road,  and  every  rifle  in  the  trenches  was 
pointed  in  the  same  direction.  The  sharp 
shooters'  fire  had  diminished,  it  is  true,  but  the 
hail  of  the  shrapnel  and  the  swarm  of  Mauser 
bullets  was  worse.  The  killing  power  of  the 
Spanish  rifle  at  long  range  was  never  more  dis 
tinctively  felt  than  at  this  time.  It  was  a  long- 


168  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

distance  fight  with  a  vengeance,  but  it  was  one 
in  which  our  men  had  to  stand  and  take  without 
being  able  to  deliver  a  reply. 

The  discovery  of  the  branch  road  was  utilized 
as  speedily  as  possible.  The  first  regiment  to  be 
sent  up  to  the  left  from  the  front  was  the  Seventy- 
first  New  York  Volunteers.  By  sending  it  up 
this  trail,  the  regiment  was  at  once  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  brigade,  the  other  two  regi 
ments,  the  Sixteenth  and  Sixth,  both  regulars,  it 
must  be  remembered,  being  at  that  time  engaged 
in  squeezing  and  pushing  its  way  forward  as  a 
parallel  line  to  the  cavalrymen  of  Wheeler's  bri 
gade.  Between  the  volunteer  regiment  and  the 
regiments  of  regulars  lay  the  woods  and  thickets, 
not  yet  cleared  of  sharpshooters.  The  garrison 
on  San  Juan  hill  either  knew  from  observation, 
or  inferred,  that  the  secondary  road  was  being 
utilized,  for  no  sooner  had  the  first  battalion  of 
the  Seventy-first  started  up  the  branch  road  than 
to  the  fire  of  the  sharpshooters  was  added  what 
ever  shrapnel  and  rifle  volleys  from  the  trenches 
were  not  given  to  the  men  in  the  main  road. 

The  report  of  the  division  commander  when 
dealing  with  this  part  of  the  day  states  that  no 
sooner  had  the  First  Battalion  of  the  Seventy -first 
been  turned  into  this  byway  with  orders  to 
march  up  it  and  form  so  as  to  get  into  line  with 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  169 

the  other  two  regiments  of  the  division,  than  "it 
was  exposed  to  such  a  galling  fire  that  it  recoiled 
in  confusion  on  the  rear."  This  is  Kent's  cold 
blooded  official  statement  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  as  to  its  accuracy.  Neither  can  there  be 
any  doubt  as  to  the  utter  absence  of  anything 
like  an  extenuating  or  explanatory  statement  in 
the  division  commander's  report.  No  refer 
ence  whatever  is  made  to  the  fact  that  by  thus 
ordering  the  volunteers  up  a  side  road,  unsup 
ported  by  regulars,  they  were  at  once  thrown 
into  a  position  of  the  most  unusually  trying 
character.  It  was  not  even  a  regimental  advance, 
but  the  stringing  out  of  a  battalion  along  a  nar 
row  road,  where  every  step  meant  possible  death. 
It  is  true  that  this  is  the  sort  of  thing  that  all 
soldiers,  whether  volunteers  or  regulars,  are  ex 
pected  to  encounter;  but  it  is  also  true  that  this 
exposure  of  an  unsupported  battalion  of  volun 
teers  was  one  of  marked  severity.  Due  emphasis 
may  be  laid  upon  these  conditions,  it  is  believed, 
without  in  the  faintest  advancing  anything  in 
the  nature  of  a  special  plea. 

The  First  Battalion  was  ordered  to  lie  down, 
and  it  did  so,  and,  by  the  bye,  it  was  one  of  the 
crying  faults  of  the  volunteers  in  the  whole  San 
tiago  campaign  that  they  did  not  lie  down  as 
much  as  they  should  have  done  to  escape  the 


170  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Spanish  fire.  The  regulars  knew  that  seeking 
cover  did  not  imply  cowardice;  the  volunteers 
were  afraid  that  it  did.  While  the  First  Battalion 
was  lying  down,  the  Second  and  Third  came 
steadily  along  and  moved  up  the  trail. 

At  twenty  minutes  past  twelve  the  Third  Bri 
gade,  Wickoff's,  reached  the  forks,  and  was  sent 
forward  by  the  left  road,  up  which  it  marched, 
pushing  forward  past  the  volunteers  and  so  to 
the  edge  of  the  woods.  No  sooner  had  the  Third 
Brigade  been  thus  disposed  of  than  up  came  the 
Second  Brigade  (Pearson's),  forming  the  rear. 
This  brigade  was  split  at  the  forks,  the  Tenth 
and  Second  Regiments  being  sent  up  the  trail  to 
the  left  and  the  Twenty-first  along  the  main  road. 
In  each  case  the  different  regiments  were  in 
structed  to  form  with  their  fellow  regiments  of 
the  same  brigade  when  possible.  But  by  thus 
splitting  the  forces  it  came  about  that  only  in 
the  case  of  the  Second  was  anything  like  a  bri 
gade  formation  preserved.  The  troops  stood  in 
this  wise: 

UP  THE  BRANCH  ROAD.        UP  THE  MAIN  ROAD. 

First  Brigade:  Wheeler's  Cavalry: 

Seventy-first  New  York  Vol.  First. 

Third  Brigade:  Tenth. 

Ninth.  Ninth. 

Thirteenth.  Rough  Riders. 

Twenty-fourth.  First  Brigade: 

Second  Brigade:  Sixteenth. 

Second.  Sixth. 

Tenth.  Second  Brigade: 

Twenty-first. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  171 

When  the  Third  Brigade  reached  the  edge  of 
the  wood  it  found  itself  at  a  ford  of  the  San 
Juan  River,  which  in  its  erratic  course  had  turned 
that  way.  Wickoff  saw  that  the  only  way  to 
save  his  men  from  annhiliation  in  crossing  the 
stream  and  gaining  the  open  was  to  deploy  and 
rush  for  it.  Word  was  given  to  this  effect,  was 
passed  along  the  line,  and  with  a  cheer  everybody 
along  the  road  started  in  on  one  of  those  dashing 
rushes  which  characterized  the  day.  Through  the 
jungle,  across  the  stream  knee-high,  waist-high, 
and  up  and  over  its  banks — slippery  with  the  mud 
of  the  bottom  lands  and  tangled  with  barbed- 
wire — across  the  shingle  beds  into  which  the 
feet  slipped,  the  men  rushed.  Even  the  division 
commander  acknowledges  that  in  this  wild  dash 
for  the  open  there  was  nothing  approaching  bri 
gade  formation.  By  companies,  here  and  there, 
battalions  now  and  then,  and  by  regiments  rarely, 
the  Third  Brigade,  gathering  up  as  it  went  the 
foremost  of  the  Seventy-first  New  Yorkers,  with 
Captain  Goldsborough  of  Company  M  acting  as 
their  impromtu  major,  reached  the  open  and 
actually  formed  into  something  like  a  well-defined 
line  of  assault.  But  it  was  bloody  work. 

Wickoff  was  killed  as  he  ran  ahead,  keeping 
the  men  together.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Worth  of 
the  Thirteenth  took  his  place,  and  went  down 


172  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

severely  wounded.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Liscum  of 
the  Twenty-fourth,  upon  whom  the  brigade  com 
mand  then  descended,  took  up  the  lead  with  a 
cheer  which  had  scarcely  begun  when  he  too  fell, 
and  as  the  brigade  swept  up  to  the  hill  it  was 
under  charge  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  E.  P.  Ewers 
of  the  Ninth.  Those  who  from  the  woods 
could  see  the  burst  of  the  Third  Brigade  and  its 
lightning  formation  and  dash  across  the  open 
have  said  that  it  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
and  stirring  things  ever  seen  on  a  battlefield. 
It  only  lasted  ten  minutes,  but  in  those  ten 
minutes  the  brigade  command  had  thrice  de 
scended  on  the  field,  while  the  brigade  men  lay 
scattered  in  pitiful  numbers  all  over  the  Paradise. 
If  the  jam  and  congestion  of  men  in  the  main 
road  had  been  confusing  while  the  two  regiments 
of  the  First  Brigade  and  Wheeler's  dismounted 
cavalrymen  were  struggling  for  the  right  of  way, 
it  can  be  imagined  what  the  congestion  and  jam 
were  like  when  the  regiments  of  the  other  bri 
gades  were  added  to  the  mass  of  men.  The  de 
flection  of  part  of  the  troops  into  the  trail  on  the 
left  was  what  might  literally  be  called  an  avenue  of 
relief,  but,  even  with  this,  the  two  roads  for  miles 
back  from  the  open  were  full  of  crowded  columns 
of  men  all  in  more  or  less  disorder,  all  exposed 
to  a  deadly  fire  which  lasted  all  through  the 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  173 

morning  hours  and  all  anxiously  waiting  for  a 
chance  to  get  out  and  kill  something  they  could 
see  or  be  killed  by  a  visible  enemy.  To  the  lay 
man  the  simple  solution  of  the  whole  matter 
would,  perhaps,  seem  a  steady  march  along  the 
roads  and  a  quick  burst  into  the  open  of  each 
company  as  it  arrived  at  the  meadow  land,  the 
rapid  deploy  of  those  who  emerged  and  tbe  con 
tinuous  accession  to  the  deploy  line  of  men  from 
behind.  In  such  a  clearance  of  the  congestion 
many  would  surely  fall,  but  some  would  surely 
escape,  enough,  anyway,  to  form  a  good  line  of 
advance.  But  to  the  military  leaders  no  such 
simple  method  of  relief  was  found  practicable, 
or,  at  any  rate,  it  was  not  put  into  practice. 
Indeed,  to  the  men  in  the  woods,  it  looked  as 
though  the  military  leaders  did  not  exactly  know 
what  to  do,  and  in  the  same  cold-blooded  spirit 
of  telling  facts  which  characterizes  Kent's  report, 
it  must  be  stated  that  on  a  quiet  after  considera 
tion  of  the  battle  the  surviving  brigade  and  regi 
mental  commanders  were  of  the  very  decided,  if 
altogether  unofficial,  opinion  that  the  day  had 
been  remarkable  for  its  utter  absence  of  either 
brigade  or  regimental  orders  received  and  carried 
out. 

Orders  were  issued  which,  if  strictly  obeyed, 
would   have   meant  that  some  regiments  would 


174:  The  Fall  of  Santiago.* 

be  still  "waiting  in  the  San  Juan  road;  and 
in  other  cases  contradiction  traveled  so  quickly 
on  the  heels  of  orders,  and  reaffirmations  so 
quickly  on  the  heels  of  contradictions,  that  some 
times  the  order  of  the  dispatches  was  mixed  and 
a  regimental  commander  was  dutifully  undoing 
that  which  he  was  expected  to  be  performing. 

But  of  it  all  the  Third  Brigade,  as  has  been 
said,  did  burst  out  into  the  open  and,  as  it 
did  so,  the  two  regiments  of  Hawkins'  brigade 
(the  Sixteenth  and  Sixth)  also  broke  from  £he 
mass  of  men  at  the  head  of  the  main  road. 

The  Third  and  First  brigades  were  out,  and 
those  who  stood  on  the  top  of  El  Poso  hill  and 
saw  this  burst  of  men  said  that  the  efflux  of 
scampering,  dodging,  cheering  men  was  like  that 
of  the  frothy  spume  of  champagne  from  two 
bottle  necks.  Almost  at  the  same  time,  for  chro 
nological  accuracy  in  such  details  as  minutes 
seemed  absolutely  impossible  in  the  face  of  the 
general  and  undefined  advance,  the  cavalry 
division  leaped  free  of  the  woods  and  made  a 
dash  for  the  hillock  which  has  been  described  as 
occupying  a  point  in  the  meadow  land  between 
the  lagoon  and  the  woods.  With  them,  or  after 
them,  or  close  on  the  heels  of  Hawkins*  regi 
ments  ran  the  Twent3r -first  regiment  of  Pearson's 
Second  Brigade,  while  far  to  the  left  his  other 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  175 

two  regiments,  the  Tenth  and  Second,  which  were 
to  the  rear  of  Wickoff's  brigade  in  the  branch  or 
path  also  broke  cover  and  swept  out  behind  the 
grassy  knoll  which  has  been  described  as  occu 
pying  a  point  in  the  airline  between  El  Poso  and 
San  Juan  hills.  These  two  regiments  furnished 
a  notable  exception  to  the  general  method  of 
advance,  and  did  actually  move  forward  in  com 
pany  to  the  rear  of  the  knoll.  There  they  de 
ployed  and  advanced  in  a  line  over  its  crest  and 
into  the  meadow,  which,  now  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  was  alive  with  blue-shirted  soldiers 
with  their  faces  all  turned  one  way — to  the  San 
Juan  hill. 

\Vhat  does  it  matter  who  got  there  first?  The 
division  commander  confesses  his  inability  to 
say,  and  the  one  incontrovertible  fact  is  that  the 
Sixth  and  the  Sixteenth  on  the  right,  the  Ninth, 
Thirteenth  and  Twenty-fourth,  and  the  fighting 
battalions  of  the  Seventy-first  New  York  Volun 
teers  all  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill  about  the  same 
time,  and  that  the  leading  men  were  there  at 
some  minute  between  1 :25  and  1 :30  p.  M.  A 
simple  statement  this,  made  as  the  result  of  a 
dissection  of  varying  reports  in  the  search  for 
truths,  but  covering  a  collection  of  stirring  deeds 
such  as  will  be  to  the  history  of  the  American 
soldier  what  that  of  Tel-el-Kebir  is  to  the  British. 


176  The  Fall  of  Santiago.* 

The  battle  of  San  Juan  has  been  called  a  battle 
of  squads;  it  was  really  a  battle  of  men.  It  was 
not  the  esprit  du  corps,  though  that  existed, 
which  carried  the  day;  it  was  the  esprit 
d'homme.  Out  where  the  Sixth  and  Sixteenth 
were  plunging  forward,  had  the  day  depended  on 
orders,  it  would  have  been  a  disaster  instead  of 
a  victory.  Captain  Kenon,  Company  E,  of  the 
Sixth,  and  Captain  Byrnes,  Company  F,  had  got 
out  and  were  lining  forward  when  the  two  met  a 
company  of  the  Sixteenth,  merged  and  went  on 
again,  without  any  company  division.  Kenon 
and  the  men  who  followed  him,  went  up  the  hill 
in  a  flanking  way,  then  turned  at  right  angles  to 
face  the  first  blockhouse.  When  he  reached  the 
top  and  turned  he  was  alone.  His  men  had 
taken  another  line  of  attack,  and  when  the  regi 
ment  behind  him  came  piling  up  it  proved  to  be 
Byrnes'  men,  or,  at  least,  a  much-mixed  lot  who 
were  following  Byrnes.  Kenon  and  Byrnes 
shook  hands,  mutually  congratulating  each  other 
on  being  the  first  to  reach  the  summit,  when 
there  was  a  cheer  to  the  left,  and  Lieutenant  Ord 
was  seen  leaping  across  the  trenches  with  a  file 
of  men  behind  him.  Ord  was  a  staff  officer,  but 
had  joined  the  firing  line,  and  in  the  climb  up 
the  hill  had  gathered  a  promiscuous  lot  of 
soldiers  whose  regimental  numbers  included 
Almost  everything  on  the  field. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

When  the  Sixth  and  Sixteenth  started  from 
the  woods  Hawkins  placed  himself  between  the 
two  regiments  and  cheered  his  men  along,  and 
when  he  panted  to  the  top  and  was  cheered  by 
his  men,  there  were  as  many  of  Wickoff's 
troopers  about  him  as  of  the  regiments  he  had  led. 

Even  in  the  assault  on  the  trenches,  and  the 
confusion  which  followed  it,  the  men  on  the  hill 
could  hear  the  yell  of  the  Rough  Riders  and 
colored  troopers  as  they,  too,  rushed  down  the 
slope  of  the  hill  on  which  stood  the  blockhouse, 
which  they  had  assaulted  and  carried,  and  trot 
ted  and  pulled  themselves  up  the  San  Juan  hill  to 
be  in  at  the  death.  General  Wheeler,  sick  and  al 
most  sunstruck  though  he  was,  had  stuck  to  his 
division  in  the  "Bloody  Angle"  and  struggled  for 
ward  to  watch  the  charge  of  his  horsemen  on  foot. 
He  saw  the  lightning  fall  of  the  blockhouse,  and  as 
he  saw  it  the  memorable  but  most  forgivable 
mistaken  cry  escaped  him  of  "There  go  the 
Yankees.  Give  it  to  'em,  boys!'*  Between  the 
blockhouse  hill  and  the  main  San  Juan  hill  lay 
the  lagoon,  and  through  it  the  Rough  Riders 
dashed,  Colonel  Roosevelt  splashing  and  cheer 
ing  at  the  head  of  his  men. 

This  is  what  our  men  had  been  doing.  Mean 
while,  as  the  charge  was  made  across  the  open 
and  up  the  hill,  the  Spaniards  turned  their  vol- 


178  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

leys  on  the  advancing  troops.  It  was  a  wither 
ing  fire  before  which  the  men  reeled  and  dropped 
in  their  tracks.  As  though  by  a  common 
impulse,  our  men  refrained  from  firing  until 
they  were  close  upon  the  trenches,  and  indeed 
until  they  could  see  the  men  individual^'  in  the 
rifle-pits.  Blue-shirted  men  lay  in  hundreds 
over  the  thick  grass,  in  the  shallow  waters  of  the 
pool,  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  hill — slopes  so 
steep  that  in  many  cases  the  men  had  to  pull 
themselves  up  by  rocks  and  bushes.  At  last  they 
could  see  the  enemy,  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes, 
and  then  steadying  themselves,  the  whole  army 
pumped  American  bullets  into  the  Spanish  line. 
The  first  line  of  trenches  was  a  shambles,  and 
throwing  out  the  dead  Spaniards,  our  men  dropped 
into  the  horrible  slime  and  directed  their  fire  on 
the  enemy,  now  running  pellmell  to  the  second 
line  of  defense. 

But,  though  the  first  line  was  gained,  and  the 
second  was  commanded  by  our  position  in  the 
first  line  of  trenches,  the  Spaniards  as  yet  showed 
no  disposition  to  acknowledge  the  day  as  lost. 
A  hurried  council  of  war  was  called  in  a  break 
beneath  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  it  was  decided 
to  rush  and  carry  the  other  trenches  and  block 
houses.  After  the  work  of  the  morning  this  was 
comparatively  easy,  that  is,  it  was  a  plain  case  of 


From  photograph  by  J.  C.  Hemment. 

The  Seventy-first  N.  Y.  Volunteers  as  they  were  turned  into  the  by-path  orT  the  main  road 
it  was  while  the  Seventy-first  were  marching  up  the  by-path  that  they 


Copyright,  1898,  by  W.  B.  Hearst. 

ian  Juan.      The  two  regular  regiments  of  the  Brigade  were  up  the  road  to  the  right    and 
[2  met  by  what  the  Division  Commander  styled  "  a  withering  fire.'' 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  179 

fight.  The  charge  was  led  by  Eoosevelt  at  the 
head  of  the  Rough  Eiders  and  the  Twenty -fourth 
Colored,  and  tired  as  the  men  were,  they  formed 
behind  the  hacienda  and  swept  on  irresistibly. 
This  was  fighting  work  they  could  do  and  feel 
moderately  at  home  in.  It  was  not  the  lurking 
hidden  death  which  they  had  been  facing  from 
eight  until  noon.  There  were  the  trenches  and 
the  blockhouses  on  the  rolling  lands  before  them. 
By  rush  and  volley  they  went  and  by  volleys 
from  the  trenches  they  were  met.  It  was  awful 
work,  but  there  was  the  fever  of  fight  in  the 
men,  and  by  3 :50  p.  M.  the  last  intrenchment 
was  carried  and  the  Spaniards  had  retired  to  the 
outworks  of  Santiago. 

The  men  who  carried  the  trenches  remarked 
on  the  great  number  of  Spanish  dead,  and  it 
was  the  general  opinion  that  out  of  those 
whose  volleys  made  such  frightful  holes  in  the 
advancing  Americans,  from  seventy  to  eighty -five 
per  cent,  went  down  in  that  terrible  hail  of 
bullets  sent  in  by  our  men  when  the.v  had  a  fair 
chance  to  show  their  deadly  accuracy  of  aim.  The 
chief  loss  was  the  disabling  of  General  Linares, 
who  was  shot  by  Sergeant  McKinnery,  of  Com 
pany  D,  Ninth  Infantry,  at  a  thousand  yards. 
Linares  immediately  relinquished  the  command 
to  General  Toral,  nor  did  he  again  assume  it 
pending  the  campaign. 


180 


The  Fall  of  Santiago. 


It  was  a  glorious  victory,  but  dearly  bought. 
Every  regiment  had  lost  and  lost  heavily. 
Twelve  officers  and  seventy-seven  men  killed, 
and  thirty-two  officers  and  four  hundred  and 
sixty-three  men  wounded  made  up  the  casualties 
to  the  First  Division,  the  official  report  in  detail 
being  as  follows : 


REPORT    OF  KILLED,  WOUNDED  AND  MISSING,  FIRST  DIVI 
SION,  FIFTH  ARMY  CORPS,  JULY  1,  1898. 


Organization. 

Killed. 

Wounded. 

Missing. 

B' 

8 

1 

Officers. 

i 

First  Brigade: 
Sixteenth  Infantry 

i 

4 
5 
1 

13 
18 

12 

38 

4 
5 
1 

10 

5 

7 
1 

13 

82 
95 

47 

224 

6 
"43" 

49 

Sixth  Infantry  

Seventy-first  N.  Y.  Vol.  Infantry.  .  .  . 
Totals   

Second  Brigade: 
Tenth  Infantry 

5 
1 
4 

21 
25 
16 

Twenty-first  Infantry    

Totals          .  .  .            

1 

10 

62 

Third  Brigade: 
Brigade  Commander  

1 

1 
2 
2 

Ninth  Infantry                      .... 

3 
18 

10 

"*5 

4 

23 

81 
73 

177 

1 

1 
7 

9 

58 

Thirteenth  Infantry 

Twenty  -fourth  Infantry  

Totals   

6 

29 

9 

Grand  totals  .        

12 

77 

32 

463 

The  Fall  of  Santiago.  181 

It  was  at  4 :45  p.  M.  that  tbe  firing  died  away 
• — a  firing  which  had  been  terrific,  and  so  the 
foreign  expert  observers  said,  unexampled  in  its 
fierceness  and  intensity — and  quiet  fell  on  the 
valley,  a  quiet  so  sudden  and  startling  that  it 
seemed  as  though  the  machinery  of  the  universe 
had  stopped  running.  It  was  a  case  of  actual 
exhaustion  on  both  sides,  and  though  it  was 
known  afterward  that  had  the  Americans  pursued 
their  advantage  they  could  have  followed  the 
Spaniards  clear  into  Santiago  and  have  taken  it 
almost  without  a  struggle,  we  could  not  have 
done  so  even  if  it  had  required  no  more  exertion 
than  driving  into  the  city  a  flock  of  sheep. 
The  men  dropped  where  they  stood,  and  all  they 
knew  or  cared  for  was  that  they  had  won  the  bat 
tle  of  San  Juan,  and  that  the  impregnable  Gibral 
tar  of  the  Santiago  highroad  was  theirs. 

Though  the  San  Juan  hill  was  taken  Santiago 
was  by  no  means  ours.  After  trench-digging 
and  the  early  morning  visit  of  the  commissariat 
it  was  hoped  that  a  few  hours'  sleep  might  be 
granted  our  men,  but  such  was  not  the  Spanish 
idea.  At  five  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning  the 
enemy  made  a  desperate  effort  to  recover  its  lost 
position.  Again  and  again  the  hill  was  assaulted 
and  again  and  again  the  Spanish  soldiers  were 
driven  back — driven  back  too,  with  awful  losses 


182  The  Fall  of  Santiago? 

— for  now  the  conditions  were  reversed.  Our 
men  were  intrenched  and  the  Spaniards  were  at 
tacking  an  intrenched  position.  The  dynamite 
gun  of  the  Rough  Eiders  did  telling  work 
throughout  the  day,  throwing  shells  into  Santiago 
itself,  and  a  battery  of  Hotchkiss  guns  was  set 
up  near  the  hacienda  and  cut  swathes  out  of  the 
enemy's  ranks. 

All  day  long  the  assaults  of  varying  determina 
tion  were  made  and  night,  that  is,  the  night  of 
Saturday,  July  2,  brought  a  general  sortie.  It  was 
at  9  :30  that  the  firing  of  the  pickets  brought  the 
wearied  men  once  more  to  their  feet.  The  Span 
iards  swarmed  through  the  outer  lines  and  pushed 
their  way  desperately  on  until  in  many  cases  they 
reached  within  a  hundred  yards  of  our  lines. 
But  in  the  trenches  now  stood  men  whose  fire 
was  cool  and  deadlj*,  the  sortie  was  completely 
repulsed  and  the  Spaniard  fell  back  to  his  third 
line  which  placed  him  close  under  the  walls  of 
Santiago.  Next  morning,  however, the  Spaniards 
were  again  at  it,  but  in  a  desultory  long-distance 
firing  which  lasted  until  noon,  when,  to  the  sur 
prise  of  those  who  did  not  know  of  the  curious 
things  that  were  happening  at  headquarters,  a 
flag  of  truce  was  displayed  and  the  order  to  cease 
firing  ran  along  the  lines. 

Owing  to  the  reversal  of  positions  just  spoken 


The  Fall  of  Santiago. 


183 


of,  our  losses  at  San  Juan  in  the  second  and 
third  day's  fighting  were  trifling  compared  to 
what  they  had  been  on  the  first.  Nine  men 
killed,  four  officers  and  ninety  men  wounded, 
made  up  the  casualties  of  July  2;  while  in  the 
third  day's  fighting  only  one  man  was  killed  and 
eight  were  wounded. 

In  the  three  days'  fighting  the  losses  were  as 
follows : 


At  San  Juan. 

At  El  Caney. 

Total. 

Officers. 

Men. 

Officers. 

Men. 

Officers. 

Men. 

Killed  

12 
36 

87 
561 
62 

11 

44 

121 
642 
19 

23 

80 

208 
1,203 
81 

Wounded 

Missing  

48 

710 

55 

782 

103 

1,493 

While  it  was  and  has  been  difficult  to  secure 
anything  like  a  definite  statement  of  the  Spanish 
casualties,  the  following  figures  are  substantially 
correct.  At  El  Caney  the  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners  were  found  in  round  numbers  to  have 
been  two  thousand.  At  San  Juan  they  reached 
three  thousand,  a  total  of  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners  of  five  thousand. 

It  was  said  just  now  that  the  display  of  the 
white  flag  was  a  surprise  to  those  who  saw  it  and 


184  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

who  were  not  acquainted  with  the  strange  things 
that  had  happened  at  headquarters.  This  is  the 
record:  General  Shafter,  who,  during  the  triple 
fight  of  July  1,  had  been  lying  sick  at  Sevilla, 
was  in  a  much  worse  physical  condition  on  July 
2,  while  to  his  bodily  ailments  was  added  much 
mental  perturbation.  From  the  reports  brought 
him  from  the  front  he  learned  of  El  Caney's 
stubborn  resistance,  of  the  slaughter  at  San  Juan, 
of  the  Spaniard's  persistent  fighting  at  this  latter 
place  and  of  the  small  things  done  at  Aguadores 
by  Brigadier-General  Duffield.  With  the  Thirty- 
third  Michigan  Volunteers,  a  battalion  of  the 
Thirty-fourth  Michigan  and  about  two  thousand 
Cubans  this  officer,  it  will  be  remembered,  was 
to  advance  on  the  little  fortified  town  at  the 
mouth  of  the  San  Juan  River.  Aguadores,  with 
its  four  thousand  Spanish  troops,  was  to  be 
shelled  by  the  New  York  and  Suwanee  while 
Duffield  engaged  them  in  a  shore  attack  or  cut 
off  their  escape  to  Santiago.  But  when  Duffield 
neared  Aguadores  he  found  that  the  Spaniards 
had  destroyed  the  railroad  trestle  across  the  San 
Juan,  the  Michigan  men  being  obliged  to  halt  on 
this  side  of  a  ravine,  and  that  the  bombardment  by 
the  flagship  and  her  consort  had  done  no  material 
damage  to  the  fort.  When  Duffield's  men  ap 
peared,  the  fort  opened  fire  and  with  its  first 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  185 

three  shells  killed  twenty-three  Cubans  and  two 
men  of  the  Thirty -third.  Duffield  replied  with 
a  few  volleys,  but  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  his 
position  retired  along  the  Siboney  road. 

Learning  of  these  things  Shafter,  on  Saturday, 
called  a  council  of  war,  during  which  the  proposi 
tion  was  advanced  whether  it  would  not  be  better 
to  retire  the  American  army  to  the  high  lands 
above  Siboney  pending  the  arrival  and  emplace 
ment  of  heavy  siege  guns.  Generals  Kent  and 
Sumner,  who  had  arrived  from  San  Juan,  favored 
a  withdrawal,  but  General  Wheeler  said  bluntly 
that  he  proposed  to  stay  where  he  was  and  in  this 
stand  he  was  backed  by  Generals  Lawton  and 
Bates,  who  came  in  from  El  Caney.  Shafter 's 
depression  was  so  great,  however,  that  he  did 
not  abandon  his  idea  of  retiring  but  determined, 
with  a  full  appreciation  of  the  gravity  of  such  a 
movement,  that  the  American  lines  should  mean 
while  be  thrown  as  far  north  as  possible.  And, 
with  a  policy  of  contingencies  that  was  most  re 
markable  and  that  produced  still  more  remark 
able  results,  he  decided  to  demand  the  surrender 
of  Santiago.  In  this  remarkable  determination 
General  Shafter  anticipated  that,  under  cover  of 
the  negotiations  that  would  certainly  follow  such 
a  demand,  he  might  be  able  to  retire  with  safety 
and  dignity  and  it  may  be,  although  it  is  not  on 


186  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

record,  that  the  wild  hope  may  have  been  enter 
tained  that  the  commander  of  the  Santiago  forces 
would  be  surprised  by  such  a  demand  into  actual 
surrender.  It  is  on  record,  however,  that  the 
government  at  Washington  received  on  Sunday, 
July  3,  two  dispatches  from  Shafter  which  by 
turns  so  quickly  depressed  and  elated  it  and 
which  for  a  time  seemed  so  inexplicable  in  their 
contradiction  that  they  still  occupy  a  prominent 
place  in  the  documentary  wonders  of  the  cam 
paign.  The  first  dispatch  was  as  follows: 


DEL  ESTE,  July  3.  To  Secretary  of 
War,  Washington.  Camp  near  Sevilla,  Cuba, 
July  3.  We  have  the  town  well  invested  on  the 
north  and  east,  but  with  a  very  thin  line.  Upon 
approaching  it  we  find  it  of  such  a  character  and 
the  defenses  so  strong  it  will  be  impossible  to 
carry  it  by  storm  with  my  present  force. 

"Our  losses  up  to  date  will  aggregate  a  thou 
sand,  but  the  list  has  not  yet  been  made.  There 
is  but  little  sickness  outside  of  exhaustion  from 
intense  heat  and  exertion  of  the  battle  of  the  day 
before  yesterday,  and  the  almost  constant  fire 
which  is  kept  up  on  the  trenches. 

'  '  SHAFTEK,  Ma  j  or-General.  '  ' 

The  effect  of  this  dispatch  upon  the  govern 
ment  was  as  depressing  as  was  its  tone.  A  gen 
eral  council  of  war  was  called  for  and  held  at  noon 
in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  at  which  it 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  187 

was  decided  to  rush  all  possible  reinforcements 
to  Shafter,  to  send  him  a  message  of  gratitude 
and  thanks;  while  the  conclusion  was  reached 
that  the  results  before  Santiago  were  those  of  a 
drawn  battle  and  the  expectation  was  entertained 
that  the  next  news  from  Shafter  would  be  that 
he  had  abandoned  El  Caney  and  the  San  Juan 
plateau  and  was  preparing  to  move  his  troops  to 
the  Siboney  highlands  for  rest  and  preparation. 
Alger  sent  a  dispatch  of  comfort  to  the  effect 
that  the  President  directed  him  to  forward  "the 
gratitude  and  thanks  of  the  nation  for  the  bril 
liant  and  effective  work"  of  the  Santiago  army 
on  July  1.  General  Miles  sent  his  congratula 
tions  and  the  notice  that  he  expected  to  be  with 
him  (Shafter)  " within  one  week  with  strong 
reinforcements. " 

Following  close  on  the  receipt  of  Shafter's  pes 
simistic  report  and  the  dispatch  of  the  govern 
ment's  message  of  comfort  came,  like  a  sudden 
sun  ray  through  a  rift  in  a  dark  cloud,  this 
remarkable  dispatch : 

"PLATA  DEL  ESTE,  July  3.  To  Secretary  of  War, 
Washington.  Camp  near  Sevilla,  Cuba,  July  3. 
I  sent  a  demand  for  the  immediate  surrender  of 
Santiago,  threatening  to  bombard  the  city.  I 
believe  the  place  will  be  surrendered.  The  fol 
lowing  is  my  demand  for  the  surrender  of  San 
tiago  ; 


188  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

"  'Commanding  General  Spanish  forces,  San 
tiago  de  Cuba,  July  3. 

"  'I  shall  be  obliged,  unless  you  surrender,  to 
shell  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Please  inform  the  citi 
zens  of  foreign  countries  and  all  women  and 
children  that  they  should  leave  the  city  before 
ten  o'clock  to-morrow  morning.' 

"Very  respectfully,  SHAFTER, 

"Major-General  Commanding." 

But  Washington  had  not  yet  dona  with  the 
surprises  to  which  Shafter  was  to  treat  it  on  the 
momentous  Sunday,  July  3.  Prior  to  the  report 
from  the  General  of  his  demand  for  the  surrender 
of  Santiago  and  his  announcement  that  he  be 
lieved  that  the  command  would  be  complied  with, 
the  government  had  received  an  intimation  from 
Colonel  Allen,  in  command  of  the  cable  station 
at  Playa  del  Este,  that  the  Spanish  fleet  "had 
been  destroyed  and  was  burning  on  the  beach." 
What  "beach"  or  how  "destroyed"  this  first 
and  meager  information  of  a  great  event  did  not 
say.  Then  came  this  dispatch  from  Shafter: 

"Headquarters  Fifth  Army  Corps, 

"CUBA,  July  3. 

"The  Spanish  fleet  left  the  harbor  this  morn 
ing  and  is  reported  practically  destroyed.  I  de 
manded  the  surrender  of  the  city  at  ten  o'clock 
to-day.  At  this  hour,  four-thirty  P.M.  no  reply 
has  been  received.  Perfect  quiet  along  the  line. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  189 

The  situation  has  been  precarious  on  account  of 
the  difficulties  of  supplying  the  command  with 
food  and  the  tremendous  fighting  capabilities 
shown  by  the  enemy,  who  has  almost  an  impreg 
nable  position. 

"SHAFTEK,  Commanding." 

The  American  Army  was  ready  to  fall  back ; 
the  demand  for  Santiago's  surrender  had  been 
made  and  would  be  complied  with;  the  Spanish 
fleet  had  been  destroyed;  and  the  demand  for 
the  city's  surrender  was  still  being  considered — • 
it  was  a  combination  of  contradictory  and  sensa 
tional  news  which  left  the  Government  still  guess 
ing  and  which  set  the  public  agape. 

From  this  confusion,  and  the  presentation  of 
its  existence  is  necessary  in  a  story  which  aims 
at  accurately  presenting  the  condition  of  things 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  it  is  pleasant  to  turn 
to  the  facts  of  events. 


190  The  Fall  of  Santiago? 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HOW    SCHLEY   DESTROYED    CERVERA's    FLEET. 

EXCEPT  in  a  casual  way  it  has  not  been  found 
necessary,  in  the  progress  of  this  history,  to 
refer  to  Cervera's  fleet  from  the  moment  of  its 
discovery  inside  Santiago  Harbor  by  Schley. 
The  fleet  was  there,  abut  up  in  the  land-locked 
harbor;  the  subject  of  forcing  the  passage,  brav 
ing  the  mines  and  risking  the  fires  of  the  bat 
teries  and  engaging  the  fleet  had,  as  has  been 
told,  formed  the  subject  of  conversation  and 
plan  between  Admiral  Sampson  and  his  comman 
ders;  and  the  Merrimac,  as  has  also  been  told, 
was  sunk  partly  athwart  the  channel  by  Hobson 
— but  outside  of  these  facts  and  references  Cer 
vera's  fleet  has  been  a  passive  factor  in  this 
story. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  great 
running  Admiral  got  behind  the  shelter  of 
El  Morro  and  La  Socapa  his  seclusion  was  en 
titled  by  the  Spanish  authorities  "a  great  tact 
ical  victory,"  while  our  authorities  were  equally 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  191 

precise  in  esteeming  the  process  of  bottling  it  up 
as  the  settlement  of  an  undefined  danger.  But, 
housed  as  it  was  in  Santiago  Harbor  and  par 
tially  locked  though  the  door  might  be,Ceryerva's 
fleet  was  still  in  existence  and  sometime  or  other 
would  have  to  be  met  arid  accounted  for.  As  to 
how  that  meeting  would  occur  there  were  many 
surmises,  but  not  even  the  deftest  romancer  in 
the  fleet  ever  spun  a  yarn  so  full  of  bright  and 
glowing  threads  as  that  in  which  Cervera  was 
moored,  wound  up  and  ended.  The  spectacular 
element,  of  whose  profusion  in  this  campaign  I 
have  before  remarked,  was  eminently,  distin- 
guishingly  present  in  the  last  act  of  Cervera's  ap 
pearance  in  the  role  of  naval  commander. 

Passive  though  the  Spanish  fleet  may  have 
seemed  to  be  in  its  imprisonment,  the  time  had 
been  by  no  means  one  of  inaction  to  the  Spani 
ards.  To  the  contrary,  it  had  been  one  in  which 
movement  and  anxiety  had  had  equal  parts. 

The  story  of  Cervera's  imprisonment,  and 
attempt  to  escape  as  told  by  the  Spaniards  them 
selves  is  rather  a  pitiful  one.  Those  who  tell  it 
are  Captain  Eulate  of  the  Viscaya,  Captain  Con- 
treres  of  the  Colon,  Cariuz  the  impressed  and 
official  pilot  of  the  Spanish  fleet,  and,  lastly,  that 
log  of  the  Colon  out  of  which  we  have  already 
gathered  the  story  of  Cervera's  flitting  from  port 


192  The  Fall  of  Santiago/ 

to  port.     It   is   a   long  story  as  well  as  a  pitiful 
one,  but  some  of  it  must  be  told  here. 

The  time  of  feasting  and  frolic  which  followed 
the  entrance  of  Cervera's  fleet  into  Santiago  Har 
bor  on  May  19th  lasted  until  the  appearance  on 
the  outside  of  Schley's  grim-looking  warships. 
Then  the  rollicking  was  cut  short,  shore-leave  cut 
off  and  feverish  activitj*  took  their  place.  Just 
as  our  naval  commanders  were  busy  in  devising 
pla&s  to  keep  Cervera  from  coming  out,  so  Cervera 
was  bard  at  work  devising  plans  to  keep  Schley 
and  Sampson  from  coming  in.  Four  six-inch 
guns  were  taken  out  of  the  Eeina  Mercedes,  two 
of  them  placed  in  La  Socapa  battery  so  as  to 
enfilade  the  neck  of  the  harbor  and  two  mounted 
in  a  shore  battery  opposite  Cay  Smith ;  the  elec 
tric  mines  in  the  channels  were  reinforced  with  a 
number  of  contact  mines ;  a  great  boom  of  logs 
and  swinging  rope  nooses  was  laid  clear  across 
the  bay  between  the  entrance  and  the  fleet,  and 
four  rapid-fire  six-pounders  were  removed  from 
the  flagship  and  placed  in  shore  earthworks  op 
posite  the  narrowest  part  of  the  entrance. 
When  all  of  these  works  of  protection  had  been 
done,  and  their  accomplishment  occupied  until 
May  31,  both  Cervera  and  Linares  held  that  San 
tiago  was  impregnable  to  a  sea  attack  and  indeed 
it  seemed  a  peculiar  fancy  of  the  Spanish  com- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  193 

manders  that  they  were  always  contriving  and 
constructing  "impregnable"  positions,  with  the 
equally  nugatory  result  that  the  "impregnable 
positions"  were  always  either  carried  by  the 
enemy  or  abandoned  by  themselves. 

Hobson  learned  something  of  the  nature  of 
Santiago's  defenses  and  much  more  was  learned 
afterwards  by  Schley  when  he  made  the  tour  of 
the  batteries  after  the  surrender  of  the  city,  but 
it  is  evident  that  Hobson  did  not  know  all,  and 
that  Schley  was  rather  inclined  to  judge  super 
ficially.  Hobson  saw  nothing  but  what  he  was 
allowed  to  see,  and  Schley  only  saw  what  the 
Spaniards  had  left  in  the  way  of  visible  defenses. 
It  is  from  the  Spanish  revelations  of  what  had 
been  done  to  guard  Cervera's  fleet  against  attack 
that  we  gain  an  exact  idea  of  what  our  fleet  would 
have  had  to  encounter  had  it  pressed  into  the 
harbor  to  atack  the  Spaniard. 

When  the  American  army  landed  at  Daiquiri 
and  Siboney,  two  gun  crews  were  sent  from  each 
Spanish  ship  with  three-pounder  landing  guns 
and  a  battery  of  automatic  guns  to  assist  the  Span 
ish  forces.  Guns  and  men  took  an  active  part  in 
the  battles  of  El  Caney  and  San  Juan,  two  of  the 
officers  and  many  of  the  men  being  killed  there. 
When  both  of  these  strongholds  were  taken  the 
desperate  nature  of  the  situation  appealed  so 


194  The  Fall  of  Santiago.' 

strongly  to  both  Cervera  and  Linares  that  the 
latter  sent  an  almost  despairing  message  to 
Blanco  who  replied,  as  Governor  General  of  Cuba, 
by  ordering  Cervera  to  make  a  run  for  it.  On  the 
receipt  of  these  instructions  Cervera,  on  the 
afternoon  of  July  2,  signalled  his  captains  to  a 
conference  at  which  it  was  agreed  by  all  the  com 
manders,  except  those  of  the  torpedo-boat  des 
troyers,  that  it  was  best  to  make  the  attempt  to 
escape  at  night.  The  American  troops  were  press 
ing  forward,  taking  line  after  line  of  intrench- 
ments;  Shafter's  indecision  and  fears  were  not 
known  of,  and  the  American  fleet  seemed  to  be 
closing  in  on  the  harbor,  so  it  was  decided  to  go 
out  that  very  night  at  eleven  o'clock.  As  soon  as 
darkness  set  in  the  preparatory  work  for  the  dash 
into  the  open  sea  was  begun.  The  contact  mines, 
lying  to  the  west  of  the  Merrimac,  were  removed, 
the  big  boom  was  drawn  aside  and  the  ships  were 
massed  near  the  entrance.  But  night  brought  no 
relaxation  of  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  Amer 
ican  blockaders.  To  the  contrary,  it  was  seen 
that  the  blockading  fleet  was  drawn  up  in  un 
usually  close  lines,  the  great  white  cones  of  the 
flash-lights  played  uninterruptedly  on  the  en 
trance;  while  up  on  the  hills  beacon  fires  were 
burning.  To  Cervera  and  his  officers  it  appeared 
impossible  to  get  away  from  this  wary,  watchful 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  195 

foe  and  when  he  ran  up  the  querulous  signal, 
"Do  you  think  we  had  better  wait  until  day 
light,"  all  the  captains  answered  "Yes. " 

The  Spanish  ships  were  then  withdrawn  up  the 
harbor,  the  boom  thrown  back,  the  contact  mines 
replaced  and  daylight  waited  for.  But  when  day 
light  came  and  the  ships  onrce  more  steamed 
down  to  the  entrance,  there  lay  the  blockading 
fleet  close  and  wary  as  ever.  Fires  were  all  go 
ing  in  the  Spaniards'  boiler  rooms,  and  at  nine 
o'clock  the  captains  and  admirals  met  for  a  final 
conference.  It  was  decided  that  no  more  delay 
was  possible,  and  that  the  only  thing  left  was  to 
get  up  all  steam  possible  and,  as  soon  as  a  four 
teen  knot  power  was  made,  to  start.  The  order  of 
the  ships'  exits  were  set  in  this  wise :  First  the  In 
fanta  Maria  Teresa,  with  Cervera  on  board;  then 
the  Viscaya,  then  the  Almirante  Oquendo,  then 
the  Cristobal  Colon,  each  with  a  cable's  length 
headway.  It  was  planned  that  the  three  first 
named  were  to  engage  the  enemy  running  and 
that  the  Colon,  as  the  fleetest  of  the  cruisers  and 
under  cover  of  this  engagement,  was  to  put  on  full 
speed  to  the  west  and  get  away  to  Cienfuegos. 
Most  of  the  baggage  and  valuables  of  the  officers 
was  put  on  board  the  Colon,  for  while  the  up 
shot  of  the  fight  between  the  Teresa,  Yiscaya  and 
Oquendo  and  our  ships  was  in  doubt,  none  was 


196  The  Fall  of  Santiago. . 

entertained  as  to  the  ability  of  the  Colon  to  out 
strip  her  pursuers.  The  gunboat  destroyers  were 
to  follow  the  Colon  and  aid  in  covering  the  escape 
of  that  ship. 

The  swift-running,  heavy-batteried  Brooklyn 
was  the  most  dreaded  of  the  American  ships  and 
all  the  Spanish  captains  were  instructed  to  make 
a  joint  attempt  to  sink  her,  every  big  gun  being 
trained  forward  of  the  beam  so  that  on  emerging 
from  the  entrance  all  would  be  aimed  at  her. 
While  these  last  instructions  were  being  given, 
the  signalman  at  El  Morro  announced  that  the 
American  flagship  had  just  left  for  the  East  and 
that  the  Newark  and  Massachusetts  were  also  well 
down  the  coast.  It  seemed  to  the  Spaniards  as 
though  Providence  was  on  their  side  at  last,  the 
captains  were  hurried  to  their  ships  and  the  dash 
for  liberty  was  begun. 

The  lookout  on  El  Morro  had  correctly  reported. 
The  joint  attack  on  Santiago  by  the  land  and  sea 
forces,  as  an  emphatic  aid  to  hasten  a  capitula 
tion,  was  to  be  arranged,  and  Sampson  steamed 
down  early  on  this  Sunday  morning  to  Siboney 
for  the  purpose  of  consulting  with  Shafter.  As 
the  New  York  turned  eastward  she  flew  the  signal 
"Disregard  commander-in-chief's  movements." 
Her  departure  left  Schley  in  virtual  command  of 
the  blockading  fleet  and  so  it  happened  that, 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  197 

because  of  this  Sunday  morning  visit,  it  was  left 
for  Schley  to  carry  out  those  laconic  instructions 
which  he  had  received  from  Washington  when 
he  reported  his  discovery  of  Cervera's  fleet.  He 
had  been  told  to  "capture  or  destroy"  the  Span 
ish  ships  and  he  did  so.  Admiral  Sampson's 
departure  for  the  confabulation  at  Siboney  did 
not,  it  is  true,  shift  the  command;  he  was  still 
commander-in-chief  of  the  fleet,  and  official!}'  was 
at  the  head  of  the  American  war  vessels  when 
they  shot  and  smothered  Cervera's  lean  cruisers 
out  of  existence.  But,  while  officially  present, 
he  was  personally  absent  and  to  the  plain  people, 
who  so  stubbornly  stick  to  plain  facts  and  pocket 
official  fictions,  it  was  Schley,  Schley  and  his 
fighting  fellow-commanders  to  whom  is  due  the 
glory  of  the  battle  of  July  3d. 

No  one  doubts  the  ability  and  foresight  of  Rear 
Admiral  Sampson.  After  the  landing  of  the  army 
of  invasion  Sampson  instructed  his  captains  to 
"maintain  and  display  the  utmost  vigilance  in 
guarding  the  harbor  entrance. "  This  was  spe 
cifically  enjoined  on  them  and  they  were  as  spe 
cifically  told  that  "if  the  Spanish  admiral  ever 
intends  to  try  to  escape  he  will  make  that  effort 
now."  That  possibilitj'  was  emphatically  laid 
down  and  the  commanders  understood  and  ap 
preciated  the  wisdom  and  foresight  of  their  chief. 


198  The  Fall  of  Santiagdl 

But  the  night  was  always  regarded  as  the  time 
when  Cervera  would,  in  all  probability,  make  his 
running.  The  cover  of  darkness  and  the  con 
fusion  of  a  night  battle  were  always  considered 
the  elements  which  Cervera  would  choose  as  aids 
to  his  escape  and,  while  it  cannot  be  said  that 
nobody  dreamed  Cervera  would  bolt  for  it  in  full 
daylight,  certainly  such  a  possibility  could  not 
have  been  seriously  considered  by  Sampson  or  he 
would  not  have  left  the  fleet  on  this  Sunday 
morning.  As  Cervera  had  found  on  the  preced 
ing  night,  the  American  lines  were  closely  drawn 
about  the  entrance  and  the  searchlights  lit  up 
every  inch  between  the  heights  of  El  Morro  and 
La  Socapa.  But  when  morning  dawned  the  lines 
of  the  blockading  squadron  were  broken.  Of 
the  flagship's  whereabouts  we  know.  The  battle 
ship  Massachusetts  early  in  the  morning  had 
gone  to  Guantanamo;  the  Marblehead  was  also  afc 
that  base  of  supplies;  the  New  Orleans  had  been 
sent  to  Key  West  and  of  the  numerous  auxiliary 
fleet  two  only  ,  the  converted  yacht  Gloucester 
and  the  converted  tugboat  Vixen,  were  left  on 
blockade — the  others  being  widely  scattered 
along  the  coast  from  Guantanamo  to  Acerradores. 
We  know  what  the  Spaniards  had  been  doing, 
what  preparations  they  had  made  and  how  they 
were  lined  up  behind  the  shelter  of  the  entrance 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  199 

cliffs  waiting  for  the  signal  to  run;  let  us  now  see 
how  lay  that  paet  of  the  American  squadron 
which  remained  on  blockade  duty. 

The  morning  was  clear  and  a  painter  would 
have  said  that  the  sea  was  turquoise  and  that  the 
sky  from  zenith  to  horizon  was  shaded  from  sap 
phire  to  topaz.  The  American  ships  lay  in  a 
long  semicircle,  with  its  distance  from  the  shore 
ranging  from  about  two  miles  at  the  horns  of  the 
crescent  to  about  five  miles  in  the  fullness  of  the 
bow.  The  little  Vixen  lay  at  the  western  horn 
of  the  crescent,  she  being  close  under  the  hills 
at  Cabanas;  a  mile  to  the  eastward  and  outward 
lay  the  Brooklyn  flying  Commodore  Schley's flag; 
next,  and  at  equal  distances,  came  the  Texas, 
Iowa,  Oregon  and  Indiana,  the  little  Gloucester 
lying  in  a  corresponding  position  to  the  Yixen  at 
the  western  horn  of  the  crescent.  In  this  distri 
bution  the  Iowa  was  at  a  point  about  opposite  the 
Santiago  Harbor  entrance  and  therefore  the  fur 
thest  from  the  shore.  All  the  ships  were  headed 
in ;  lazily  tossing  in  the  long  swell,  with  banked 
fires  and  motionless  engines.  The  crews  had 
been  called  to  quarters  and  were  grouped  about, 
clad  in  their  speckless  white  dress  mustering 
suits  and  the  captain  and  executive  officer  of  each 
ship  were  below  inspecting.  Sunday  service 
would  soon  be  called  and  altogether  it  was  a  scene 


200  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

of  Sabbath  peace  at  sea.  It  is  well  to  fill  the 
mind  "with  this  idea  of  the  rest  and  quiet  of  the 
American  ships  on  the  one  side  and  the  alert 
stillness  of  the  Spanish  fleet  on  the  other,  in  order 
to  appreciate  the  extraordinary  and  startling 
change  that  took  place  in  a  twinkling.  It  was  a 
transformation  scene  from  the  realms  of  Peace  on 
the  Deep  to  the  horror  and  turmoil  of  the  Battle 
field  of  the  Demons  of  Discord,  effected  with  a 
suddenness,  unique  perhaps  in  the  annals  of  war 
fare,  and  accompanied  by  such  a  swift  and  terrific 
work  of  destruction  as  was  certainly  undreamed 
of  by  the  students  of  the  possibilities  of  modern 
war  ships  in  action. 

Complete  as  was  the  surprise  caused  by  the 
sudden  appearance  of  Cervera's  ships  it  speaks 
volumes  for  the  discipline  of  our  men,  under 
what  may  be  called  relaxed  conditions,  that  it 
has  been  found  almost  impossible  to  decide 
who  really  did  first  see  the  outcoming  Span 
iards.  The  lookouts  on  the  Texas,  Iowa  and 
Oregon  all  claim  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  to  signal  the  discovery  of  Cervera's 
attempt  to  escape,  while,  were  this  a  boy's  history 
of  the  war,  much  pleasant  importance  might  be 
given  to  the  claim  of  Joe  Gaskin,  a  Newark  lad 
on  board  the  Iowa,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  he  had 
been  watching  all  the  morning  for  Cervera's  ships 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  201 

"because  he  had  passed  a  good  deal  of  the  night 
thinking  of  them."  The  facts  are  that  all  three 
vessels  signaled  so  simultaneously  that  the  dis 
coveries  came  as  one ;  Joe  Gaskin  got  his  ten  dol 
lars  as  a  special  reward  for  vigilance,  and  it  was 
the  Oregon  which  put  the  discovery  into  effect. 
Without  waiting  to  bend  on  and  run  up  her  sig 
nals  the  Oregon  fired  a  six-pounder  as  an  alarm 
and  before  its  echoes  had  died  away  the  string  of 
parti-colored  flags  for  signal  250,  "The  enemy  is 
trying  to  escape/' was  flying  from  the  masts  of 
the  Brooklyn,  Texas,  Iowa  and  Oregon.  Smoke 
in  the  harbor  had  been  seen  many  times  and  when 
it  was  noticed  early  this  morning  not  much  impor 
tance  was  attached  to  it.  Toward  9  o'clock  the 
wreaths  of  smoke  which  rose  above  the  entrance 
hills  grew  more  pronounced  and  still  they 
were  thought  only  to  indicate  activity  among  the 
tugs  of  the  bay ;  but  when  at  9  :35  a  moving  prow 
showed  from  behind  Cay  Smith  and  the  next  in 
stant  a  black-hulled  cruiser  came  into  view  the 
rousing,  heart-prodding  truth  burst  upon  the 
fleet,  and  then  it  was  that  the  signals  went  up 
and  the  curtain  rose  on  the  transformation 
scene. 

Orders  were  issued  of  course,  but  they  were 
not  needed,  for  even  while  the  ship-boys  went 
flying  through  the  gangways  yelling  that 


202  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

the  Spaniards  were  coming  out,  the  men  had 
doffed  their  spick-and-span  suits  and  stood 
stripped  at  their  posts;  drums  were  beating; 
battle-hatches  and  battle-ports  were  being  put 
on;  guns  were  loaded  and  trained  and,  down 
stairs,  naked  men  were  piling  up  the  furnaces, 
hacking  open  the  banked  firee  and  coupling  the 
boilers.  As  by  a  common  impulse  all  this  was 
done  and  as  by  a  common  impulse  all  the  warships 
headed  for  the  entrance. 

It  was  the  Maria  Teresa,  with  Admiral  Cervera 
on  board,  but  not  flying  the  admiral's  pennant, 
which  came  first  into  view  and  it  was  the  Maria 
Teresa  that  fired  the  first  shot.  As  the  cruiser 
cleared  Socapa  Point  her  forward  turret  belched 
black  smoke  and  an  eleven-inch  shell  came  hurt 
ling  through  the  air  and  exploded  as  it  touched 
the  water  between  the  Texas  and  Iowa.  With 
its  explosion  came  the  American  answer,  an 
answer  from  all  five  warships  and  an  answer  that 
roared  like  the  coming  of  a  tornado  and  in  whose 
midst,  like  that  of  a  tornado,  there  was  swift 
death  and  destruction. 

For  a  time  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  decide 
on  precise  and  separate  lines  of  action  or  to  quite 
make  out  the  separate  points  of  attack.  The 
Spaniards  came  out  shooting  and  with  the  dis 
charges  of  their  great  guns,  added  to  the  volume 


From  photograph  by  J.  C.  Hemment. 

The  "  Maria  Teresa"  after  her  surrender  and  as  she  lay  a  hulk  of  twisted  steel  and  use! 

the  inland  hills  is  pa 


ns  close  into  the  Santiago  shore, 
irly  brought  out  in  this  view. 


Copyright,  1898,  by  \V.  B.  Hearst. 
The  precipitous  and  impassable  nature  of  this  shore  and 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  203 

of  smoke  from  their  funnels,  the  vessels  were 
soon  little  more  than  moving  smoke-clouds.  They 
were  rather  as  moving  pillars  of  fire  and  smoke 
in  each  of  which  the  faint  outlines  of  a  dark- 
colored,  swift-moving  warship  could  be  seen, 
while  between  and  across  and  around  these 
smoke-clouds  there  rose  and  fell  a  moving 
line  of  fountains,  where  the  great  shells  struck 
and  threw  up  the  sea.  Then,  to  this  bank  of 
clouds  and  congregation  of  geysers,  was  added 
the  on-coming  wall  of  smoke  with  its  spits 
of  fire  that  marked  the  American  fleet;  and  next 
the  guns  of  the  batteries  added  their  smoke,  until 
the  whole  sea  and  coast  were  covered  with  great 
rolling  heaps  and  banks  of  cloud  through  which 
the  position  of  the  ships  was  marked  by  the  flashes 
of  the  guns. 

But  moving  clouds,  lightning  clouds  as  were 
the  ships;  and  full  of  murk  and  lurid  light  as 
was  the  whole  scene,  out  of  it  was  soon  evolved  a 
fight  of  definiteness  as  to  plan  and  of  individuality 
as  to  contestants.  Before  that  first  terrific  and 
wholesale  broadside  of  the  American  fleet  Cer- 
vera's  plans  melted  away.  With  that  frightful 
evidence  coming  from  long  range  of  what  he 
would  have  to  encounter  at  shorter  range  the 
Spanish  fleet  settled  down  to  one  object,  that  of 
making  its  escape.  The  Maria  Teresa,  the  first  to 


204  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

emerge,  was  also  the  first  to  set  the  new  running. 
Scarcety  had  the  cruiser  cleared  Socapa  Point 
than  over  went  her  helm  and  away  she  sped,  due 
west,  heading  for  that  section  of  the  blockading 
squadron  where  the  line  was  formed  by  the 
Vixen  and  Brooklyn.  The  Vixen,  it  will  be  re 
membered,  lay  close  to  shore  and  Cervera  evi 
dently  thought,  in  this  new  and  sudden  plan,  that 
he  could  slip  by  the  Vixen  without  damage  on 
account  of  her  small  size,  and  get  away  up  the 
coast  before  the  Brooklyn  could  close  in  and 
certainly  before  the  great  battleships  could  bring 
their  massive  forms  into  full  action.  As  the  long 
Castillian  cruiser  leaped  forward  the  Vixen,  with 
excellent  discretion,  scampered  off  to  sea.  The 
water  was  leaping  high  up  the  bows  of  the  Brook 
lyn  as  she  closed  in,  her  long-range  guns  turned 
straight  on  the  fleeing  Spaniard.  As  the  two 
vessels  neared  it  looked  for  one  desperate  moment 
as  though  the  Teresa  intended  to  ram  the  Brook 
lyn,  so  wheeling  with  a  rapidity  that  was  of  a  part 
with  the  whole  engagement  the  American  flagship 
turned  her  bow  westward  and  coupling  on  fresh 
boilers,  ran-  parallel  to  the  escaping  cruiser, 
blazing  away  with  all  her  starboard  guns.  But 
not  alone  from  the  Brooklyn  did  the  Teresa  re 
ceive  her  wounds,  for  even  as  the  great  battleships 
smothered  inwards  and  westward  they  fired  at  so 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  205 

long  a  range  that  the  resulting  hits  may  be  classed 
among  the  miracles  of  gunnery.  The  very  first 
shot  which  the  Brooklyn  fired  at  the  Teresa  as 
the  two  came  into  parallel  line  cut  the  Spaniard's 
main  water-supply  pipe,  but  from  the  Texas  and 
Oregon 's  giant  guns  she  received  the  first  of  her 
death  blows.  One  shell  from  the  Oregon  passed 
through  her  port  quarter  and  exploded  in  the 
engine  room,  another  landed  on  her  stern  and  set 
her  afire,  while  several  thirteen-inch  shells  swept 
through  her,  each  one  at  once  a  battering  ram 
and  a  hail  of  far-reaching  death.  Then,  as  the 
Brooklyn  brought  the  Teresa  within  range  of  her 
secondary  battery  the  smaller  shells  of  the  Amer 
ican  lodged  and  burst  in  her  antagonist  from 
stem  to  stern. 

While  the  Teresa  was  thus  receiving  the  brunt 
of  the  first  fire,  her  lean,  lank  sisters  had  emerged 
from  the  entrance  and  were  set  with  all  their 
noses  pointed  west  and  racing  for  dear  life,  with 
the  great  American  sea-hounds  in  hot  pursuit. 
As  each  passed  the  fated  Teresa  she  sent  another 
shell  or  two  into  that  doomed  craft.  There  was 
no  time  to  fight  her,  nor  indeed  was  there  any 
need  to.  The  Teresa  was  out  of  the  running. 
She  had  put  her  black  muzzle  out  of  Santiago 
Harbor  at  9  :35.  At  10  :10  she  was  a  burning, 
riddled  hulk,  with  her  fire  mains  cut  fore  and  aft 


206  The  Fall  of  Santiago.* 

and  no  way  of  putting  out  the  blaze.  Two  of 
the  thirteen-inch  projectiles  of  the  Texas  had 
gone  clear  through  her;  an  eight-inch  shell  from 
the  Brooklyn  had  entered  just  forward  of  the 
beam  on  the  port  side  and  exploding  had  cleaned 
out  the  compartment  with  its  four  deck  crews. 
One  six-inch  shell  had  carried  away  the  bridge; 
another  from  the  Brooklyn's  forward  turret  struck 
the  Spaniard  amidships,  exploded,  tore  down  the 
bulkheads,  destroyed  stanchions,  penetrated  the 
deck,  crippled  two  rapid-fire  guns,  killed  fifteen 
or  twenty  men  and  carried  panic  everywhere. 

For  a  moment  the  Teresa  halted  and  veered, 
like  a  stricken  man  groping  in  the  oncoming 
dark.  To  the  sailors  of  our  fleet,  as  they  swept 
by  it  looked  as  though  she  were  about  to  turn 
and  were  trying  to  stagger  back  into  the  shelter 
of  the  harbor,  but  when  she  had  half  swung  a 
great  gush  of  flame  shot  upward  from  her  quarter, 
and  it  was  seen  that  her  commander  was  about 
to  run  her  ashore.  This  he  did  at  10 :35,  having 
found  a  little  cove,  really  a  break  in  the  coast 
line,  which  the  Cubans  call  Nima-Nama.  As  she 
struck  the  beach  her  colors  went  down,  and  the 
flames  leaped  up  with  renewed  activity  from  the 
shock  of  her  keel  on  the  beach.  And  so  ended  the 
Infanta  Maria  Teresa,  first-class  cruiser,  late  of 
the  Spanish  navy. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  207 

Following  the  Teresa,  and  hugging  the  shore  as 
that  ship  had  done,  came  the  Yiscaya,and  after  her 
and  parallel  to  her  came  on  the  Oregon  and  Texas, 
rapidly  closing  up  the  gap  between  them  and  the 
Brooklyn,  while  the  Iowa  turned  in  to  look  after 
the  surrendered  Teresa.  The  same  tactics  that 
had  obtained  in  the  battle  with  the  Teresa  were 
carried  out  in  that  with  the  Viscaya,  except  that 
the  Brooklyn  was  now  so  far  ahead  that  she  was 
able  to  turn  slightly  in  shore  in  such  a  way  as  to 
cut  off  the  Viscaya's  escape.  But  the  cruiser 
never  reached  the  line  of  the  Brooklyn's  offset. 
Schley,  Clark  and  Philip  thus  kept  up  the  race 
and  the  fire  of  the  three  ships  was  concentrated 
on  this  hapless  hulk,  while,  as  the  Iowa  turned 
in  to  look  after  the  Teresa  she  let  fly  one  spiteful 
shell  at  the  Viscaya  which  struck  the  Spaniard's 
eleven-inch  gun  in  the  forward  turret,  cutting  a 
furrow  out  of  the  side  of  the  gun  as  though  it  had 
been  done  with  a  cold  chisel.  The  shell  exploded 
half  way  in  the  turret,  making  the  vessel  stagger 
and  shake  in  every  plate.  Every  gunner  in  the 
turret  was  killed  and  the  place  so  choked  with 
corpses  that  the  new  crew  had  to  ship  the  dead 
through  the  ammunition  hoist  to  the  lower  deck. 
The  Viscaya  remained,  however,  the  special  prey 
of  the  Brooklyn  and  Oregon,  the  Texas  having  in 
her  run  paid  most  attention  to  the  Oquendo. 


208  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Exclusive  of  the  innumerable  one-pounder  and 
rapid-fire  hits  which  swept  the  Yiscaya's  deck 
she  was  struck  fourteen  times  by  large  projectiles 
and  eleven  times  by  six-pounders.  The  eight- 
inch  guns  of  the  Brooklyn  and  Oregon  tore  her 
structure  above  the  armor  belt  into  shreds,  while 
the  six-pounders  of  the  two"  ships  actually  drove 
every  Spaniard  from  the  deck.  Every  rapid-fire 
gun  on  the  Viscaya  was  silenced  because  every 
gunner  had  been  either  killed  or  crippled  at  his 
post;  the  military  tops  were  filled  with  dead  men; 
the  surgeons  had  ceased  to  dress  the  wounded; 
the  inside  woodwork  was  ablaze  and  the  hospital 
was  a  furnace.  Men  and  officers  acted  like  peo 
ple  bereft  of  their  senses.  The  officers  screamed 
their  orders  and  the  men  rolled  here  and  there 
like  drunkards.  Then,  at  10  :55,  when  the  whole 
gun-deck  was  in  flames  and  the  magazines  were 
in  danger  she,  with  her  flag  still  flying,  was 
headed  for  the  shore  at  Acerradores,  sixteen 
miles  west  of  El  Morro.  Just  as  she  turned  for 
the  shore,  and  when  about  four  hundred  yards 
from  the  beach,  the  Texas,  in  flying  past  in  pur 
suit  of  the  Colon,  fired  a  shell  from  her  after-tur 
ret.  It  hit  the  Viscaya  a  little  forward  of  amid 
ships  just  above  the  armor-belt,  crashed  through 
her  side,  crossed  the  gun-deck,  ricocheting  from 
compartment  to  compartment  until  it  reached  the 


From  photograph  by  J.  C.  Hemment. 

Superstructure  and  main  deck  of  the   "  Viscaya,"   showing  the  terrible 


Copyright,  1898,  by  VV.  B.  Hearst, 
action  caused  by  the  exploding   American  shells  and  the  succeeding  fire. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  209 

forward  torpedo-tubes  one  of  which  it  exploded 
Torpedo  and  shell  alike  exploded  indeed  and 
while  in  its  progress  over  the  deck  the  shell 
killed  eighty  men,  the  double  explosion  blew  out 
the  starboard  side  of  the  cruiser  and  made  her  a 
complete  wreck.  And  so  ended  the  Viscaya. 

The  end  of  the  Oquendo  differed  but  little  in 
its  elements  of  horror  from  that  of  the  two  cruis 
ers  whose  destruction  has  been  described.  Some 
thing  appeared  to  be  the  matter  with  the  machin 
ery  or  engines  of  this  vessel,  for  though  the 
draught  was  being  forced  to  such  an  extent  that 
her  funnel-tops  were  frequently  crested  with 
flames,  she  had  fallen  behind  the  Viscaya.  In  con 
sequence  of  her  comparative  slowness  everyone 
of  our  warships  punished  her  as  she  swept  along 
in  the  great  parallel  fight.  In  the  case  of  the 
Oquendo,  too,  the  pursuing  ships  had  no  need 
of  long-range  gunnery,  but  forged  in  closely  to 
her  and  overwhelmed  her  with  the  fire  of  their 
secondary  batteries.  Only  four  eight-inch  shells 
struck  her  and  but  two  six-inch  shells.  On  the 
other  hand  she  was  struck  no  less  than  forty-six 
times  by  our  six-pounders,  all  of  which  entered 
above  her  armor-belt  and  exploded  within,  while 
the  one-pounders  from  every  vessel  in  the  fleet 
seemed  for  a  time  to  have  been  concentrated  on 
her,  these  small  but  most  mischievous  missiles 


210  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

having  plowed  through,  across  and  along  her  as 
a  battery  of  machine-guns  might  have  torn  a  regi 
ment  to  pieces.  She  furnished  an  object  lesson 
of  the  wonderful  rapidity  and  accuracy  of  the  firo 
of  our  small  guns  that  was  in  its  way  as  interesting 
and  instructive  as  was  the  Teresa  in  showing  what 
the  Texas  and  Oregon  could  do  in  the  way  of 
landing  a  giant  shell  from  a  moving  fortress  into 
a  flying  target  with  a  few  miles  between  them. 

Captain  Eulate,  who  commanded  the  Oquendo, 
declared  that  it  was  the  carnage  caused  by  the 
secondary  batteries  of  our  ships,  and  mainly  by 
the  Brooklyn  which  led  to  his  surrrender,  the 
men  being  literally  unable  to  work  their  guns. 
Eulate  further  reported  that  the  long-range  fight 
ing,  notwithstanding  the  heavier  metal  thrown, 
was  as  a  child's  love-pat  compared  with  the 
thrashing  received  from  the  small  guns.  The 
rattle  of  the  lighter  shot  on  the  steel  decks,  the 
incessant  din,  the  constant  flashing  of  exploding 
shells  and  the  never  ceasing  shriek  of  the  projec 
tiles  made  up  such  a  concatenation  of  horror  that 
it  seemed  impossible  to  think  of  or  hear  anything 
outside  of  this  devil's  tattoo.  The  killing  inside 
the  ship  was  something  too  horrible  for  descrip 
tion.  She  caught  on  fire  so  many  times  and  in 
so  many  places  that  the  ironwork  was  scarcely 
bearable  to  the  touch  and  the  deck  seemed  red 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  211 

hot.  Every  beam  was  twisted  and  torn  from  its 
original  position.  It  was  absolutely  beyond  hu 
man  endurance  to  hold  out  further;  she  was  a 
shambles  above  and  below ;  the  track  of  the  sheila 
was  marked  by  human  remains.  One  eight-inch 
shell  struck  the  forward  turret  at  the  gun  open 
ing;  every  man  in  the  turret  was  killed  and  the 
officer  in  the  firing-hood  was  blown  to  pieces. 
The  engineer  force  was  penned  up  because  of 
the  battle-gratings  being  jammed.  So  having 
reached  a  point  opposite  the  beach  where  the 
Teresa  was  run,  she  was  headed  in  about  five  hun 
dred  yards  above  her  helpless  consort,  with 
flames  rising  fiercely  from  stem  to  stern.  And 
so,  with  explosions  that  still  further  wrecked  her 
shattered  sides  and  deck,  the  Almirante  Oquendo 
was  finished. 

There  remained  then  the  torpedo-destroyers 
and  the  Cristobal  Colon.  The  plans  of  Admiral 
Cervera  were  being  wof ully  interfered  with.  For 
a  time,  and  really  in  due  sequence  as  the  death 
of  the  Colon  came  later,  the  desperate  running  of 
that  swift  cruiser  can  be  passed  over  while  atten 
tion  is  paid  to  the  fate  of  the  destroyers — those 
untried  craft  concerning  whose  possibilities  so 
much  had  been  written  and  feared.  The  last  of 
the  cruisers  was  two  miles  from  the  entrance 
when  the  Pluton  came  into  view,  closely  followed 


212  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  • 

by  the  Furor.  Their  low  black  forms  seemed  to 
waver  for  a  moment  and  their  bows  were  pointed 
eastward;  then,  following  the  course  of  the  cruis 
ers  they,  too,  headed  for  the  west.  Blood-cur 
dling  tales  had  been  told  of  what  these  wicked 
little  craft  would  do;  of  their  thirty-knot  speed; 
of  their  magical  ability  to  maneuver  and  of 
their  power  to  launch  a  torpedo  and  get  away 
unscathed  with  the  swiftness  of  an  enraged  wasp. 
Instead  of  all  this,  the  reality  was  two  wavering 
little  boats  which  could  not  even  run  away,  but 
which  slowly  moved  into  the  shadow  of  the  shore 
as  though  seeking  to  avoid  observation.  On  our 
side  there  was  no  apparent  thought  as  to  the  fero 
cious  possibilities  of  the  destroyers,  for  the  Ore 
gon  scarcely  deigned  to  pepper  them  as  she 
dashed  to  the  front;  the  Texas  treated  them  to  a 
secondary  battery  shower  as  she  too  moved  west; 
the  Iowa,  running  neck  and  neck  with  the  Oregon, 
swerved  a  little  to  tear  the  stern  of  the  Furor  to 
pieces  with  one  fierce  shell  and  then  passed  on, 
contemptuously  leaving  the  completer  destruc 
tion  of  the  craft  to  the  little  Gloucester. 

The  Gloucester  had  been  the  millionaire  Mor 
gan's  yacht,  known  as  Corsair  No.  2,  and  even  as 
a  converted  gunboat  was  as  harmless  a  looking 
pirate  as  ever  put  the  quietus  to  a  couple  of  dis 
tressed  Spanish  sea-bravos.  The  captain  of  the 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  213 

Gloucester  was  Lieutenant  Harry  P.  Wainwright, 
who  had  been  the  last  man  to  leave  the  hulk  of 
the  Maine  as  she  settled  into  the  silt  of  Havana 
Harbor.  Dashing  right  inside  of  the  line  of  our 
cruisers  until  she  was  close  under  the  guns  of  El 
Morro,  and  in  the  full  fire  of  those  batteries,  of  the 
stern-chasers  of  the  fleeing  cruisers  and  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  terrible  things  the  destroyers 
could  do,  the  little  yacht  darted  in  to  tackle  them 
at  close  quarters.  Carrying  four  six-pounder 
rapid-fire  guns,  four  three-pounder  rapid-fire 
guns  and  two  small  Colt  automatics  and  with 
a  complement  of  ninety-three  officers  and  men 
the  little  unarmored  800-ton  yacht  started  in  to 
finish  up  the  two  Spanish  fighting  craft,  each  as 
long  as  she,  each  built  to  destroy,  each  carrying 
two  fourteen-pound,  two  six-pound  and  four  one- 
pound  rapid-fire  guns,  and  two  fourteen-inch 
torpedo  tubes,  with  a  total  complement  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-four  men.  The  gun  work  on 
the  Gloucester  was  record-making;  empty  shells 
rolled  about  the  deck,  breech-locks  grew  so  hot 
that  they  refused  to  work,  the  men  were  stripped 
naked  and  though  the  Spaniards  shot  valiantly 
in  their  attempt  to  sink  their  tiny  antagonist, 
not  a  shot  struck  her.  Pushing  forward  until 
within  five  hundred  yards  of  the  destroyers,  fir 
ing  now  at  one  now  at  the  other  the  Gloucester 


214  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

pressed  on.  Suddenly  there  was  a  flash,  not  that 
of  a  gun,  on  board  the  Pluton  and  she  began  to 
settle.  At  the  sight  of  this  catastrophe  the  Fu 
ror  circled  back  to  El  Mono  as  though  running 
away  from  her  wounded  sister,  and  then  circled 
back  as  though  ashamed  of  her  conduct  and  as 
though  she  were  returning  to  assist  in  the  Pluton 's 
dying  struggles.  But  again  she  turned,  and  it  was 
then  seen  that  she  was  drifting  and  simply  mov 
ing  in  a  circle  because  of  a  jammed  helm.  For 
all  this  the  Gloucester  kept  up  her  withering  fire 
until  the  Furor  went  down  by  the  head  and  sank 
in  deep  water  just  west  of  Cabanas,  while  the  Plu 
ton  managed  to  get  close  enough  to  run  ashore. 
Wainwright  had  remembered  the  Maine. 

Among  those  saved  was  Lieutenant  Boado- 
Suances  of  the  Pluton  and  some  days  after,  when 
he  was  able  to  think  clearly,  for  the  horror  of  his 
experience  almost  made  him  mad,  he  told  his 
story.  Of  shattered  steam-pipes  and  escaping 
steam  scalding  to  death  the  engineers  and 
stokers  as  they  stood;  of  men  cut  in  twain  by 
fragments  of  giant  shells;  of  the  boats  thrown 
on  their  beam  ends  from  the  force  of  the  shells' 
impact  and  torn  to  pieces  from  the  explosions; 
of  other  shells  whose  path  could  be  marked  by 
splashes  in  the  sea  as  they  came  bounding  toward 
them,  sure  as  death  and  straight  as  an  arrow,  at 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  215 

whose   sight    men    screamed    shrilly    in    their 
fear. 

There  remained  then  the  Colon.  For  a  time  it 
looked  as  though  the  plan  for  her  escape  by  runn 
ing  inside  the  line  of  the  other  cruisers  might  be 
carried  to  a  successful  conclusion.  In  the  din 
and  smother  and  roar  of  the  other  engagements 
this  fleet  ship  coursed  westward,  gaunt-looking 
and  rapid  as  a  hound.  But  there  were  sharp 
eyes  and  nimble  minds  on  board  the  American 
ships.  The  Spaniard  had  reeled  off  many  a  good 
knot  in  her  flight  and  of  her  pursuers  all  but 
two  were  left  moderately  well  behind — the  Brook 
lyn  and  the  Oregon,  a  cruiser  and  a  battleship. 
In  their  running  fight  the  two  Americans  pressed 
on  after  the  Spaniard  in  a  line  that  would  have 
brought  them  broadside  along  her — the  Spaniard 
following  the  trend  of  the  coast.  But  this  coast 
dipped  into  bay  which  ended  in  Cape  Cruz  to 
the  westward.  Schley  saw  the  cape  and  imme 
diately  turned  out  and  headed  for  it,  and  when 
the  Spaniard  saw  this  move  he  knew  that  his 
case  was  hopeless.  As  the  Brooklyn  swung  out 
the  Oregon  put  on  a  burst  of  speed  and  followed 
the  Colon,  and  it  was  at  this  time  that  the  battle 
ship  made  for  herself  a  record  among  the  fight 
ing  machines  of  the  world,  and  set  the  fleet 
a-roaring. 


216  The  Fall  of  Santiago! 

Put  together  like  a  watch  they  knew  her  to  be ; 
steady  as  an  East  Indiaman  she  had  proved  her 
self  to  be  in  her  ever-memorable  voyage  up  and 
down  the  oceans  of  the  New  World ;  big  as  a  city 
block  of  buildings  they  could  see  her  to  be,  but 
when  this  monstrous  floating  fortress  went  leap 
ing  over  and  through  the  waves  like  a  clipper- 
ship  and  that  without  any  apparent  effort,  her 
smoke-stacks  being  crested  only  with  the  faintest 
haze,  men  threw  up  their  hands  in  amazement. 

From  fighting  mast  to  fighting  mast  the  Oregon 
and  the  Brooklyn  signaled  the  range  to  and  fro 
and  both  began  firing.  It  was  then  one  o'clock  P.M. 
and  the  distance  between  battleship  and  cruiser 
was  six  thousand  yards.  As  the  Oregon  dashed 
along  in  the  general  pursuit  of  and  fight  with  the 
other  Spaniards  she  looked  indeed  a  floating  for 
tress,  firing  fore,  aft  and  abeam  at  once,  but  now 
she  settled  down  into  a  steady  target-practice. 
Now,  too,  the  Colon  having  seen  the  error  of  her 
way  was  making  every  effort  to  slip  past  Cape 
Cruz,  beyond  which  lay  safety.  Every  pound  of 
steam  was  crowded  on  and  she  was  going  a  nine- 
teen-knot  gait.  But  tear  through  the  water  as 
she  might,  the  long  slim  Brooklyn  was  swiftly 
and  surely  getting  between  her  and  the  headland. 
Captain  Clark's  great  shells  were  beginning  to 
fall  around  her,  while  behind  the  Oregon  the 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  217 

Texas  could  be  seen  pounding  along  in  her  wake 
under  a  forced  draught.  The  Oregon's  thirteen- 
inch  shells  fell  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Colon 
and  the  Spaniard  was  headed  for  the  shore  and 
her  flag  hauled  down. 

Hers  was  the  most  inglorious  end  of  all  the 
Spanish  fleet.  She  was  in  good  fighting  commis 
sion  when  run  ashora.  Having  kept  behind  the 
other  ships  for  protection,  the  Colon  was  hit  with 
large  projectiles  about  six  times,  these  having 
been  made  by  the  Brooklyn  and  Oregon.  One 
eight-inch  shell  went  clean  through  her  without 
exploding,  one  five-inch  hit  her  just  above  the 
armor-belt  and  one  six-inch  struck  her  on  the 
bow,  but  no  blow  was  fatal  or  even  serious. 

When  the  Colon  turned  in  and  ran  her  nose 
on  the  coral  keys  about  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Tarquino,  forty-eight  miles  west  of  Santiago,  she 
•was  a  surrendered  ship  in  good  condition.  When 
the  Americans  reached  her  she  was  a  wreck  and 
had  been  wantonly  made  so.  The  breech-locks 
of  the  guns  had  been  torn  out  and  thrown  over 
board.  Every  inlet  for  water  had  been  opened 
and  the  wrecking-gang  of  the  Merrimac  had  not 
worked  more  religiously  and  efficiently  to  sink 
that  collier  than  did  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
Colon  to  wreck  and  scuttle  her  after  surrender. 
Only  one  life  had  been  lost  and  she  had  less  than 
twenty  men  wounded. 


218  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  * 

The  New  York's  share  in  the  fight  was  that  of 
an  observer.  It  will  be  remembered  that  she  had 
gone  down  to  Siboney  for  a  Sunday  morning  call 
on  Shaf  ter.  At  half-past  nine  the  sound  of  heavy 
guns  reached  the  flagship  and  turning  westward 
the  bridge-officer  saw  and  reported  "Firing  from 
the  eastern  and  western  batteries  and  the  ships 
returning  it."  A  moment's  confusion,  a  skurry- 
ing  of  orderlies  and  the  New  York's  bow  was 
brought  around  for  Santiago.  Eight  knots  was 
all  she  could  make  at  first,  only  two  boilers  being 
in  use,  but  new  fires  were  started,  the 
forward  engines  coupled  and  as  the  deck  was 
cleared  for  action  she  soon  gathered  speed.  As 
she  swept  by  the  Resolute  that  gunboat  was  sent 
back  to  Siboney  to  cable  to  Playa  del  Este  to  order 
up  the  Massachusetts  and  all  other  vessels  there 
abouts,  and  the  torpedo  boat  Ericsson  was  gath 
ered  up  in  the  westward  run.  As  she  came  oppo 
site  El  Morro  the  flagship  fired  her  forward  four- 
inch  guns,  four  shots  in  all  and  these  were  her  only 
shots  for  the  day.  They  were  aimed  at  the  Terror 
and  one  was  thought  to  have  struck  the  upper 
works  of  that  destroyer.  The  others  went  wide. 
As  the  flagship  swept  on,  the  destroyers  were  seen 
to  be  total  wrecks,  and  Wainwright  was  busy 
succoring  his  enemies. 

Five    miles    beyond     the     harbor    entrance, 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  219 

Sampson  saw  the  Spanish  flagship  Infanta 
Maria  Teresa  beached  and  flying  a  white  flag; 
less  than  a  mile  beyond  at  Juan  Gonzales,  Samp 
son  saw  the  Almirante  Oquendo  beached  and 
ablaze;  opposite  Acerradores,  Sampson  passed  the 
Yiscaya  ashore  and  blazing  like  the  Oquendo. 
What  Sampson  had  so  far  seen  of  the  Spanish 
fleet  was  a  succession  of  battered  and  blazing 
hulks.  There  remained  only  the  Colon,  and  the 
flagship  pressed  on  to  be  at  least  in  at  the  death 
of  that  cruiser,  but  when  the  flagship  reached 
the  Eio  Tarquino  the  Colon  had  surrendered. 
Sampson  there  received  Schley's  report  of  his 
glorious  victory,  took  charge  of  the  transfer 
of  prisoners  and  placed  Lieutenant-Commander 
James  G.  Cogswell,  executive  officer  of  the 
Oregon,  in  command  of  the  Colon. 

It  was  thought  that  the  Colon  might  be  saved 
and  the  Yixen  was  set  to  tow  her  inshore,  but 
the  tug  could  not  move  the  Spaniard's  huge  bulk. 
Next  the  flagship  muzzled  her  sharp  prow  with  a 
rope  fender  and,  it  being  then  night  time,  set  the 
glare  of  her  searchlight  on  the  Spaniard's  star 
board  quarter  and  moved  her  own  e.ngines  ahead. 
Slowly  the  Colon  swung  around  under  this  great 
pressure  and  it  was  hoped  that  a  new  vessel  would  ' 
be  added  there  and  then  to  our  navy.  Suddenly, 
however,  the  Colon  rolled  over  on  her  port  side 


220  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  * 

with  her  starboard  guns  pointing  straight  and 
silently  upward.  So  ended  the  Colon,  and  in  this 
way  was  the  New  York  in  at  the  death. 

Having  thus  made  an  end  of  Cervera's  fleet  and 
done  their  best  to  blow  the  Spanish  crews  into 
eternity,  the  American  commanders  remembered 
that  it  was  Sunday  and  that  the  enemy  being  in 
a  pit  it  was  their  duty  as  members  of  the  church 
militant  to  drag  him  out  thereof.  All  up  and 
down  the  coast,  therefore,  where  had  raged  the 
tumult  of  battle  the  boats  and  launches  of  our 
warships  were  busy  in  the  work  of  succor.  The 
Gloucester's  boats  rescued  the  survivors  of  the 
burning  Pluton  as  they  swam  and  then  steamed 
to  the  beach  on  which  were  gathered  the  sur 
vivors  of  the  Teresa.  Among  these  was  Admiral 
Cervera,  a  short,  paunchy  gray-bearded  gentle 
man,  who  in  his  underclothes  stepped  forward 
and  surrendered.  He  explained  his  personality 
and  was  transferred  to  the  Iowa  where  he  re 
ceived  the  honors  of  his  rank  and  a  new  suit  of 
clothes.  The  Indiana  lowered  her  boats  and  at 
different  points  along  the  shore  picked  up  seven 
officers  and  two  hundred  and  three  men.  From 
the  sinking  Viscaya  and  the  beach  near  her  and 
the  sea  about  her,  the  Iowa  picked  up  thirty- 
eight  officers  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
caen ;  while  W.  R.  Hearst,  who  with  that  origi- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  221 

nality  of  enterprise  which  had  made  him  and  his 
paper,  the  New  York  Journal,  of  national  promi 
nence,  and  who  had  gone  to  Cuba  as  the  war  cor 
respondent  of  his  own  paper,  rounded  up  a  squad 
of  the  Viscaya's  men  and  delivered  them  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  Cubans  into  those  of  the  officers 
of  the  St.  Louis.  So  it  went  on  for  hours,  for 
the  rest  of  the  day  and  the  coming  night  in  truth, 
with  shelter  and  courtesjr  to  the  officers,  with 
care  and  comfort  to  the  men,  with  nursing  and 
medical  attendance  for  the  wounded,  and  with 
decent  burial  for  the  dead. 

It  was  the  same  spirit  of  mercy  to  the  van 
quished  which  led  Captain  John  W.  Philip  of  the 
Texas  to  forbid  his  men  to  cheer  when  the 
Viscaya  ran  up  the  white  flag.  So  long  as  there 
was  any  fight  in  the  Spaniard  he  was  to  be 
battered  and  pelted  and  torn,  but  when  the  token 
of  submission  was  flying  over  a  vessel  that  had 
been  changed  from  a  swift-moving  thing  full  of 
life  and  action  into  something  that  was  at  once  a 
furnace  and  a  charnel-house,  it  was  a  triumph  to 
be  sure,  but  not  a  time  for  noisy  jubilation.  So, 
"Don't  cheer  men,"  cried  Captain  Philip,  as  the 
jackies  began  to  yell  and  caper,  "those  poor 
devils  are  dying." 

It  was  in  a  tenderer  and  still  higher  spirit  that 
this  same  Captain  Philip,  when  the  fight  was  over, 


222  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

did  something  that  showed  him  possessed  of  a 
moral  courage  as  great  in  degree  as  the  physical 
courage  that  had  kept  him  on  the  bridge  all 
through  the  engagement  in  the  fierce  give-and- 
take  fight  between  the  mighty  engines  of  de 
struction.  The  men  with  their  stripped  bodies 
black  with  the  grime  of  battle;  the  decks  strewn 
with  the  splintered  evidences  of  fight;  the  great 
guns  still  steaming, with  their  breech-locks  turned 
open  to  the  air;  the  turret  crews  stumbling  out 
of  their  steel  furnaces;  and  the  delirium  of  victory 
over  all — surely  this  was  a  time  and  these  were 
the  elements  for  the  noise  and  rejoicing  of  ma 
terial  things,  the  time  to  yell  for  themselves  and 
their  good  ship.  But  to  Captain  Philip  it  was 
something  more  than  a  victory  of  men  and  ma 
terial  and  beckoning  to  the  crew  to  gather  around 
him  he  stood  straight  before  them,  with  a  clear 
unflinching  light  in  his  little  beady  eyes  and  tak 
ing  off.  his  cap  said : 

"I  want  to  make  public  acknowledgment  here 
that  I  believe  in  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  and 
I  want  all  you  officers  and  men  to  lift  your  hats 
and  from  your  hearts  offer  silent  thanks  to  the 
Almighty." 

Plain,  simple  words  and  uttered  with  the  plain 
simple  faith  of  a  child;  yet  the  heart  of  the  peo 
ple  has  been  moved  more  deeply  by  this  avowal 


TheFall  of  Santiago.  223 

of  the  Lord  God  of  Gideon  than  by  all  the  other 
thrilling  incidents  of  the  great  fight  of  July  3d — 
whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  the  moving, whether 
the  sentimentality  that  follows  the  reading  of 
great  deeds  as  a  transient  feeling,  or  the  in 
herent  Puritanism  of  the  nation  as  a  settled  fact. 
The  statistics  of  this  great  sea-battle  almost 
bore  out  the  Philipian  idea  of  a  providential 
guardianship.  The  Spanish  losses  were  five  hun 
dred  killed,  sixteen  hundred  prisoners,  mostly 
wounded,  and  the  total  destruction  of  four  cruis- 
sers  and  two  torpedo-boat  destroyers,  represent 
ing  a  value  of  over  twenty  million  dollars. 
The  American  list  of  casualties  stood  at  one 
man  killed,  chief  yeoman  Geo.  H.  Ellis  of  the 
Brooklyn,  and  two  wounded,  and  superficial 
damages  which  it  would  cost  a  few  thousand 
dollar  to  repair.  But  the  hard  logic  of  fact 
shows  that  the  destruction  of  the  Spanish 
fleet  and  the  escape  of  ours  was  due  to  relative 
gunnery;  to  good  gunnery  on  our  side  and  to 
bad  gunnery  on  theirs.  From  the  moment  of  the 
fleet's  emerging  from  Santiago  to  the  beaching 
of  the  Colon,  the  Spaniards  fired  as  best  they 
might.  But  most  of  the  Spanish  shots  fell  over 
our  ships  and  it  was  the  expert  belief  of  our 
officers  that  the  enemy  did  not  change  their 
range, 


224:  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

Another  reason  "why  the  Spanish  gunnery  was 
harmless  lay  in  the  demoralization  of  the  gun 
ners.  As  we  have  seen,  the  Spanish  officers 
acknowledged  that  the  scenes  on  board  their 
ships  were  those  of  cumulative  horrors  growing 
out  of  the  din  and  slaughter  of  battle,  but  the 
men  have  stated  that  each  ship  was  a  drunken  in 
ferno  ;  that  gunners  and  stokers  were  plied  with 
rum  ;  that  treasure  was  scattered  about  the  decks ; 
that  the  cannoneers  reeled  drunkenly  about  their 
guns  and  that  the  officers  shot  them  down  as  they 
reeled.  For  the  credit  of  humanity  it  is  hoped 
the  stories  are  exaggerated;  to  the  shame  of 
Spain  it  must  be  said  the  evidence  is  strongly 
against  her. 

Cervera  himself,  as  he  stood  on  the  quarter 
deck  of  the  Iowa,  furnished  the  key  to  the  situ 
ation,  when  he  said  "the  rapidity  and  accuracy 
of  the  American  fire  was  almost  incredible. "  That 
was  just  it.  It  was  the  men  behind  the  guns 
who  won  this  famous  victory  and  the  Spaniard 
was  smashed  by  American  gunnery. 

Here  are  a  few  concrete  facts  to  remember  in 
this  connection,  given  even  at  the  risk  of  repeti 
tion  :  Cervera  came  out  at  9  :35  A.  M.  At  10  :10 
the  Teresa  was  on  fire.  At  10:15  the  Furor 
and  Pluton  were  blown  up  or  sinking.  At 
10 :30  the  Oquendo  was  beached  and  had  sur- 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  225 

rendered.  At  10 :35  the  Teresa  had  followed 
suit.  At  11  the  Viscaya  hauled  down  her  colors. 
At  1 :15  the  Colon  had  given  up  the  fight  and 
had  been  wrecked.  Including  the  chase  of  the 
Colon  it  had  taken  us  three  hours  and  forty  min 
utes  to  destroy  the  Spanish  squadron.  Leaving  I 
out  the  chase  of  the  Colon,  the  fight  was  won  in 
one  hour  and  ten  minutes,  while  such  was  the 
condition  of  the  enemy  that  victory  was  assured 
us  in  thirty  minutes.  During  that  decisive 
thirty  minutes  we  fired  over  seventeen  hundred 
shots,  the  reports  of  the  discharges  being 
literally  incessant.  By  large-sized  missiles  the 
Oquendo  was  struck  fifty -five  times;  the  Teresa 
thirty-seven  times;  the  Viscaya  twenty -five  and 
the  Colon  six;  while  the  hits  by  the  smaller  guns 
were  in  each  case  countless.  The  fight  started 
at  a  range  of  six  thousand  yards,  while  at  two 
thousand  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  yards 
two  torpedo  boats  and  two  cruisers  were  anni 
hilated.  The  closest  fighting  of  the  whole 
engagement,  though  this  record  may  bring 
sorrow  to  the  artists  who  persist  in  laying  their 
battling  ships  alongside  each  other,  was  at  eleven 
hundred  yards,  when  the  Brooklyn  and  Viscaya 
were  settling  accounts. 

As  to  the  other  lessons  of  the  great  fight;  of  the 
mute  evidences  furnished  by  the  Oquendo  of  how 


226  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

a  ship  looks  when  riven  by  an  internal  explosion 
as  compared  to  that  furnished  by  the  Maine;  of 
the  incalculable  damage  possible  when  modern 
war  ships  meet;  of  the  unspeakable  horrors  that 
were  found  within  the  charred  hulks  of  the  Span 
ish  ships  and  of  the  great  leap  forward  which  the 
United  States  navy  made  in  the  appreciation  of 
Europe's  War  Lords — of  all  these  things  much 
could  be  and  doubtless  will  be  said,  but  there  is 
no  place  for  it  here. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  22 T 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW   TOKAL    SURRENDERED    MORE  THAN   WAS  ASKED  FOR. 

WHEN  Shafter  sent  his  ultimatum  of  shell  or 
surrender  to  Toral  at  8  :20  on  the  morning  of  July 
3,  Toral  replied  with  a  refusal  to  acknowledge 
himself  beaten,  and  it  was  for  the  exchange  of 
these  communications  between  the  two  command 
ers  that  the  white  flag  was  set  up  between  the 
opposing  lines  to  the  surprise  of  our  men  on  San 
Juan  hill,  as  has  been  described  in  a  previous 
chapter.  The  reply  of  Toral  to  Shafter's  demand 
was  as  follows : 

SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA,  July  3. 

"To  His  Excellency  the  General  Commanding 
the  forces  of  the  United  States,  San  Juan  River : 

"SiR:  I  have  the  honor  to  reply  to  your  com 
munication  of  to-day,  written  at  8  :20  A.M.  and 
received  at  1  P.M.,  demanding  the  surrender  of 
this  city ;  in  the  contrary  case  in  announcing  to 
me  that  you  will  bombard  the  city,  and  that  I 
advise  the  foreigners  and  women  and  children 


228  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

that  they  must  leave  the  city  before  10  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning. 

"It  is  my  duty  to  say  to  you  that  this  city  will 
not  surrender,  and  that  I  will  inform  the  foreign 
consuls  and  inhabitants  of  the  contents  of  your 
message. 

"Very  respectfully, 

"JOSE    TORAL, 

"Commander-in-Chief,  Fourth  Corps." 

When  Toral  sent  this  brave  reply  Cervera  was 
a  fighting  or  fleeing  possibility  and  something, 
that  something  to  which  the  Spaniard  is  always 
clinging,  might  be  done  to  relieve  the  be 
leaguered  city.  Pando  was  coming  too,  Pando 
with  his  fresh  army  from  Holquin ;  the  gunnery 
of  our  ships  had  not  so  far  wrought  much 
havoc  to  the  city  or  forts — and  so  he  sent  his 
answer.  He  informed  the  British,  Portuguese, 
Chinese  and  Norwegian  consuls  of  the  threatened 
bombardment,  and  in  consonance  with  this 
notification  these  officials  came  to  the  American 
lines  and  preferred  the  request  that  the  bombard 
ment  be  postponed  until  10  o'clock  A.M.  Thurs 
day  the  5th,  asking  further  that  the  non-combat 
ants,  numbering  between  fifteen  thousand  and 
twenty  tnousand,  might  be  allowed  to  occupy  the 
town  of  El  Caney.  To  this  request  Shafter  ac 
ceded,  and  sent  the  following  notification  to 
Toral : 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  229 

"Commanding  General  Spanish  forces,  Santiago 
de  Cuba,  July  3. 

"Sir:  In  consideration  of  the  request  of  the 
consuls  and  officers  of  your  city  for  delay  in  car 
rying  out  my  intention  to  fire  on  the  city,  and  in 
the  interest  of  the  poor  women  and  children,  who 
will  suffer  very  greatly  by  their  enforced  depar 
ture  from  the  city,  I  have  the  honor  to  announce 
that  I  will  delay  such  action  solely  in  their  in 
terest  until  noon  of  the  5th,  providing  during 
the  interval  your  forces  make  no  demonstration 
whatever  upon  mine.  I  am,  with  great  respect, 
your  obedient  servant, 

"W.  E.  SHAFTER." 


"When  the  news  of  the  destruction  of  Cervera's 
fleet  reached  our  headquarters  Shafter  not  only 
sent  it  to  the  front,  where  it  was  received  with  a 
round  of  cheers  that  stretched  from  one  end  of 
the  line  to  the  other  and  with  the  blare  of  the 
only  band  that  had  managed  to  keep  together, 
but  with  excellent  policy  sent  it  also  to  the 
commander  of  the  Spanish  forces  in  San 
tiago. 

Whether  the  lookout  at  El  Morro  had  reported 
to  Santiago  the  woful  result  of  Cervera's  attempt 
to  escape;  whether  he  had  not  been  able  to  make 
out  clearly  the  full  extent  of  the  horror  in  all  its 
smother  of  smoke  and  its  confusion  of  rushing 
ships;  or  whether  Shafter 's  brief  bulletin  was 


230  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

the  first  intimation  received  by  Linares  and  Toral- 
that  Spain  had  lost  another  fleet — all  these  are 
points  that  have  not  as  yet  been  definitely  settled. 
It  is  definitely  known,  however,  that  the  reception 
of  the  news  of  this  additional  disaster  caused  the 
most  poignant  grief  to  the  Spanish  command 
ers,  and  had  it  not  been  for  their  pachyderma 
tous  pride  and  their  strict  adherence  to  the 
punctilios  of  deference  to  higher  authorities,  the 
demand  of  Shafter  would  have  been  there  and  then 
acceded  to. 

As  it  was,  Governor-General  Blanco  was  com 
municated  with  at  Havana,  and  in  obedience  to 
the  suggestion  received  from  him  Toral  proposed 
that  the  truce  still  continue  and  that,  during  it, 
commissioners  be  appointed  from  both  sides  to 
discuss  the  question  of  capitulation. 

In  deference  to  this  small  step  pacifically  for 
ward  the  day  of  general  attack  by  land  and  sea 
was  postponed,  for  while  Shafter  professed  to 
the  Spaniards  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  round 
about  road  to  surrender  along  which  commission 
ers  would  possibly  travel,  he  saw  at  once  that 
this  parleying  on  the  part  of  Toral  pointed  but 
one  way. 

The  situation  within  each  line  was  at  this  time 
thoroughly  characteristic.  On  the  American 
side,  the  persistent  strengthening  of  the  position 


w/// 

Maj.  Gen.  W.  B.  Shafter. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  231 

as  the  practical  advantage  of  the  extension  of 
time;  on  the  Spanish  side,  increased  distress  and 
a  desperate  evasion  of  the  inevitable.  Toral's 
next  move  in  this  impractical  direction  was  the 
request  to  Shafter  that  the  cable  operators,  who 
had  left  Santiago  on  the  first  notification  of  bom 
bardment,  might  be  permitted  to  return  to  the 
city  in  order  that  the  situation  might  be  laid  be 
fore  the  government  at  Madrid.  Shafter  con 
sented  to  this,but,as  a  rider,notified  Toral  that  too 
much  time  was  being  consumed  in  preliminaries, 
and  that  a  Yes  or  No  to  the  demand  for  surrender 
must  be  received  before  noon  of  July  9,  or  the 
threatened  bombardment  would  surely  begin. 

The  cable  operators  returned  to  Santiago  on 
July  8,  and  when  the  9th  came  Toral  was  ready 
with  another  move  for  delay  and  asked  that  in 
stead  of  a  bombardment  the  American  commander 
consider  this  proposition  :  that  he, Toral,  evacu 
ate  the  city,  provided  his  forces  be  permitted  to 
retire  immediately  to  Holquin.  Shafter  refused 
to  consider  this  suggestion,  and  ordered  Ran 
dolph's  Brigade  which  had  just  landed  to  march 
to  the  front  and  to  bring  its  field  artillery  with  it. 

Then  Toral  sent  back  to  say  that  he  had  been 
ordered  to  make  this  offer  by  his  government 
over  the  cable  which  Shafter  had  so  generously 
placed  at  his  disposal,  and  that  he  had  been  fur- 


232  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

ther  requested  to  ask  that  the  suggestion  be  laid 
before  the  government  at  Washington.  Then 
Shafter  saw  that  he  had  been  deftly  cornered, 
again  postponed  the  bombardment,  forwarded 
the  request  to  Washington  and  strengthened  his 
lines  around  the  Holquin  road.  In  this  fashion  it 
happened  that  by  the  curiously  circuitous  way  of 
the  single  cable  from  Santiago  that  had  escaped 
capture — for  oddly  enough  it  was  only  found,  and 
that  accidentally,  by  the  anchor  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  off  Aguadores  on  the  day  of  the  surren 
der — and  so  it  happened,  I  say,  that  over  this 
cable  via  the  generals  in  command  on  the  bat 
tlefield  and  our  appropriated  cable  from  Playa  del 
Este,  the  authorities  at  Washington  and  Madrid 
were  in  communication  for  the  first  time  since 
Woodford  had  received  his  passports.  In  the  same 
roundabout  way,  but  in  the  most  direct  language, 
Shafter  was  instructed  to  inform  Toral,  for  the 
benefit  of  Sagasta,  that  the  unconditional  surren 
der  of  Santiago  must  be  granted,  or  fire  would  be 
opened  along  the  entire  American  line  on  the 
morning  of  July  11. 

Possibly  Toral  thought  that  in  view  of  the 
many  postponements  he  had  secured  this,new  ulti 
matum  would  not  be  rigorously  insisted  on.  In 
this,  however,  he  was  mistaken,  for  when  July  11 
came,  with  it  came  the  thunder  of  the  great  guns 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  233 

from  the  ships,  the  cough  of  the  Vesuvius  and 
the  earthquake  result  of  its  dynamite  shells,  and 
the  roar  of  Randolph's  heavy  siege  pieces.  Some 
of  the  giant  shells  from  Sampson's  ships  reached 
the  city,  and  the  men  at  San  Juan  could  see  whole 
squares  crumble  where  the  steel  projectiles  ex 
ploded.  The  firing  from  the  lines  was  mainly 
directed  against  the  Spanish  trenches  and  was 
but  feebly  replied  to.  Of  loss  of  life  there  was 
little,  Santiago  being  practically  deserted  by 
everyone  except  the  garrison,  and  El  Caney  and 
the  inland  roads  therefrom  to  Siboney  being 
crowded  with  tens  of  thousands  of  refugees.  It 
was  intended  as  an  object  lesson,  as  an  emphatic 
reminder  that  an  answer  to  a  certain  question 
was  being  delayed.  Yet  with  all  the  havoc 
caused  by  the  bombardment  and  with  a  full 
knowledge  of  their  condition,  the  Spanish  leaders 
obstinately  clung  to  their  determination  to  sur 
render  in  obedience  to  commands  from  Madrid 
and  not  on  the  demand  of  Washington.  Then  it 
was  that  Linares,  whose  pride  was  broked  down 
by  sickness  and  pain,  sent  the  following  appeal  to 
his  government,  one  of  the  most  pathetic  revela 
tions  of  the  Spanish  helplessness  and  hopeless 
ness  at  Santiago  that  can  be  imagined : 


234:  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

"Official  cablegram,  July  12,  1898. 

"To  the  Minister  of  War  from  the  General-in- 
Chief  of  the  Division  of  Santiago  de  Cuba: 

"Although  confined  to  my  bed  by  great  weak 
ness  and  in  much  pain,  the  situation  of  the  long- 
suffering  troops  here  occupies  my  mind  to  such 
an  extent  that  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  address  Your 
Excellency  that  the  state  of  affairs  may  be  ex 
plained. 

"Enemy's  lines  very  near  the  town  and  on  ac 
count  of  the  nature  of  the  ground  our  lines  are 
in  full  view  from  them.  Troops  weak ;  sick  in 
considerable  proportion  not  sent  to  hospitals 
owing  to  the  necessity  for  keeping  them  in  the 
intrenchments.  Horses  and  mules  without  the 
usual  allowance  of  forage.  In  the  midst  of  the 
wet  season,  with  twenty  hours'  daily  fall  of  rain 
in  the  trenches,  which  are  simply  ditches  dug  in 
the  ground,  without  any  permanent  shelter  for 
the  men,  who  have  nothing  but  rice  to  eat  and  no 
means  of  changing  or  drying  their  clothing. 
Considerable  losses;  field  officers  and  company 
officers  killed,  wounded  and  sick,  deprive  the 
troops  of  necessary  orders  in  critical  moments. 

"Under  these  circumstances  it  is  impossible 
to  fight  our  wajr  out  ,  because  in  attempting  to 
do  so  our  force  would  be  lacking  one-third  of 
the  men,  who  could  not  leave,  and  we  would  be 
weakened  beside  by  casualties  caused  by  the  en 
emy,  resulting  finally  in  a  veritable  disaster, 
without  saving  our  diminished  battalions.  In 
order  to  get  out,  protected  by  the  Holquin  divis 
ion,  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  break  the  en 
emy's  line.  For  this  operation  the  Holquin 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  235 

division  will  require  eight  days  and  will  have  to 
bring  a  large  amount  of  rations,  which  it  is  im 
possible  to  transport.  The  solution  of  the  ques 
tion  is  ominously  imposed  upon  us. 

"  Surrender  is  inevitable  and  we  can  only  suc 
ceed  in  prolonging  the  agony.  The  sacrifice  is 
useless,  and  the  enemy  understand  this.  They 
see  our  lines,  and  theirs  being  well  established 
and  close  up,  they  tire  out  our  men  without  expos 
ing  themselves,  as  they  did  yesterday,  when  they 
cannonaded  us  on  land  with  such  an  elevation  that 
we  were  unable  to  see  their  batteries,  and  from 
the  sea  by  a  squadron  which  had  a  perfect  range 
and  bombarded  the  town  in  sections  with  math 
ematical  precision. 

"The  complete  exodus  of  the  inhabitants,  in 
sular  as  well  as  peninsular,  includes  the  occupants 
of  the  public  offices,  with  few  exceptions. 
There  only  remains  the  clergy,  and  they  to-day 
started  to  leave  the  town  with  the  archbishop 
at  their  head. 

"The  defenders  here  cannot  now  begin  a  cam 
paign  full  of  enthusiasm  and  energy.  They 
came  here  three  years  ago  struggling  against  the 
climate,  privations  and  fatigue,  and  now  they  are 
placed  in  these  sad  circumstances,  where  they 
have  no  food,  no  physical  force  and  no  means  of 
recuperating.  The  ideal  for  them  is  lacking, 
because  they  are  defending  the  property  of  those 
that  have  abandoned  it  and  of  those  that  now  are 
being  fed  by  the  American  forces.  The  honor 
of  the  army  has  its  limits,  and  I  appeal  to  the 
opinion  of  the  whole  nation  as  to  whether  these 
long-suffering  troops  have  not  kept  it  safely 


236  The  Fall  of  Santiago 

many  times  since  May  18,  when  they  were  sub 
jected  to  the  first  cannonade.  If  it  is  necessary 
that  the  sacrifice  be  endured,  for  reasons  of 
which  I  am  ignorant,  or  that  some  one  shall  as 
sume  the  responsibility  of  the  unfortunate  termi 
nation  which  I  have  anticipated  and  mentioned  in 
a  number  of  telegrams,  I  faithfulljr  offer  myself 
on  the  altars  of  my  country  for  the  one,  and  for 
the  other  I  will  retain  the  command  for  the  pur 
pose  of  signing  the  surrender,  for  my  modest  rep 
utation  is  of  little  value  as  compared  with  the 
country's  interests.  LINAKES. " 

But  pitiful  as  was  the  condition  of  the  Spanish 
soldiers,  that  of  the  American  forces  was  also  bad, 
was  indeed  wretched.  "When  the  great  fight  was 
over,  from  the  firing  line  along  San  Juan's  crest 
all  down  the  muddy,  sodden  road  to  Siboney 
was  an  unending  though  halting  string  of  maimed 
and  shattered  men ;  the  ambulance-carts — 
crowded  like  a  potter's  field — jolted  down  to  the 
hospitals;  the  surgeon's  field-tents  were  overrun 
and  the  center  of  patient  men  in  pain;  up  and 
down  the  eight  wearyful  miles  of  mire,  white- 
faced  lads  were  dragging  themselves  with  aimless 
looks  on  their  faces;  and  anywhere,  wherever  they 
might  be  found,  writhing  Spaniards  were  being 
tenderly  but  hurriedly  cared  for  by  our  surgeons, 
while  a  surprised  look  crept  over  the  poor  fellows' 
faces,  or  quiet  Spaniards  were  being  hurriedly 


Gen.  Linares, 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  237 

buried  when  no  look  could  come  over  their  faces 
at  all.  Our  trenches  too,  like  those  of  the  Span 
iards,  were  ditches  of  muddy  water  and  our  men 
had  to  stand  in  these,  wet  from  the  waist  down 
ward  and  parboiled  from  the  waist  upward. 
Despite  the  truce,  incessant  alertness  was  neces- 
sarjr  and  trenches  were  constantly  being  deepened 
and  extended.  The  commissariat  was  deficient, 
and  the  need  of  the  necessities  from  which  the 
men  had  debarrassed  themselves  on  their  march 
to  the  front  was  again  acutely  felt.  Sickness  was 
beginning  to  appear — had  appeared  in  fact — an 
ugly  persistent  malarious  fever  which  seized  the 
men  like  a  foe  in  the  dark,  wrestled  with  them  and 
left  them  helpless.  Then  from  crowded  El  Caney 
and  the  embowered  pest-hole  of  Siboney  rumors 
came  that  the  dreaded  yellow-jack  had  appeared, 
and  all  too  soon  these  rumors  were  found  to  be 
well-founded.  First  a  man  here  and  there 
crawled  to  the  doctor  with  all  the  telltale 
symptoms  upon  him.  Then  they  were  found  by 
batches,  pest-camps  were  established,  and  all  too 
late  Siboney  was  burned  out  of  existence.  The 
excitement  of  fight  was  gone  and  in  its  place  was 
present  the  horrible  depression  that  came  alike 
as  a  collapse  after  such  a  tremendous  physical 
and  nervous  strain  and  as  the  natural  accom 
paniment  of  the  knowledge  that  the  plague  had 


238  The  Fall  of  Santiago: 

appeared  and  that  the  Spaniards'  invisible  ally 
was  at  work. 

Things  were  bad  enough,  wretched  enough 
with  us  indeed.  But  here  the  similarity  of  con 
ditions  ended.  Back  of  us  was  a  strong,  rich 
government,  with  one  fixed  object  in  view;  a 
victorious  navy  with  no  floating  foe  to  take  ac 
count  of;  reinforcements  on  a  score  of  hurrying 
transports  and  others  alread3'  at  the  Cuban  base 
of  supplies,  and  best  of  all  the  great  American 
heart  which  beat  in  unison  with  that  of  the 
army.  On  the  other  hand  was  an  army  without 
support  of  navy,  with  its  local  reinforcements 
cut  off,  and  hampered  by  a  divided  government, 
incapable  alike  of  rendering  assistance  or  appre 
ciating  the  desperate  bravery  of  its  despairing 
soldiers. 

General  Miles  arrived  almost  on  the  echo  of  the 
bombardment,  and  when  another  flag  of  truce  ap 
peared  in  the  valley  that  lay  between  San  Juan 
and  Santiago,  and  a  message  was  sent  to  the 
American  headquarters  repeating  the  proposition 
for  the  appointment  of  commissioners,  the  re 
turn  proposition  was  made  that  in  such  a  dis 
cussion  the  chiefs  themselves  should  meet.  A 
conference  of  these  was  set  for  July  14,  at  noon, 
and  at  that  hour  Generals  Miles,  Shafter  and 
Wheeler  met  General  Toral  and  aids  underneath 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  239 

a  cieba  tree  halfway  between  the  lines.  Toral 
informed  our  generals  that  he  had  received  in 
structions  from  Captain-General  Blanco  to  con 
sent  that  the  commissioners  should  have  plenary 
power  to  negotiate  the  terms  of  a  surrender. 

For  himself,  Toral  named  as  commissioners 
General  Escario,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fortan  and 
Albert  Mason,  the  British  Vice-Consul;  while 
Shafter  named  Generals  "Wheeler  and  Ewers  and 
Captain  Miley.  The  commissioners  met  under 
the  same  cieba  tree  at  2  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  Toral  being  also  present.  Though  so  near 
a  settlement,  the  dilatory  and  evasive  tactics  of 
the  Spaniards  were  consistently  manifest.  It 
was  stated  by  Toral  that  the  sanction  of  Blanco 
to  the  proceedings  was  but  preliminary,  and  that 
the  consent  of  Madrid  would  be  necessary  to 
complete  the  bargain.  This  the  American  com 
missioners  declared  to  be  unsatisfactory  and 
wrong,  and  in  their  direct  fashion  presented 
thirteen  articles  of  surrender  to  Toral  for  his  ac 
ceptance  or  rejection.  But  no  such  direct  methods 
were  in  Toral's  mind;  and  in  the  flood  of  talk 
that  followed,  the  American  commissioners 
were  so  swamped  from  the  plain  ground  of 
solid  fact  that  they  actually  agreed  to  proceed 
to  the  consideration  of  the  preliminaries,  leaving 
open  the  question  of  whether  or  not  the  Spanish 


240  The  Fall  of  Santiago.  * 

forces  had  surrendered.  On  this  undefined 
basis  the  discussion  of  the  thirteen  articles  was 
proceeded  with,  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the 
voluble  Spaniards  and  the  growing  impatience 
of  the  Americans. 

At  length  when  midnight  was  passed  and  a 
crystallization  of  result  seemed  as  far  off  as  ever, 
General  Wheeler  insisted  on  a  test  of  bona  fides, 
and  the  articles  were  taken  up  seriatim  and  each 
was  dealt  with  until  it  was  accepted.  When  all 
had  been  thus  declared  satisfactory,  Wheeler 
further  insisted  that  the  Spanish  commissioners 
should  affix  their  signatures  to  the  articles  and 
this,  much  against  their  will  they  did,  in  the  early 
morning  hours  of  July  15.  But  satisfactory  as 
this  was,  back  of  it  all  remained  the  unpleasant 
fact  that  nothing  was  concluded.  Toral  had  in 
sisted  that  everything  was  preliminary  and  sub 
ject  to  orders  from  Madrid,  and  Toral  carried  the 
day.  There  was  no  apprehension,  however,  on 
the  American  side  as  to  the  outcome,  and  the  con 
cession  to  Toral's  dignity  was  not  regarded  as 
calculated  to  jeopardize  the  result.  Next  day  the 
atmosphere  was  cleared  up  by  the  receipt  of  a 
dispatch  from  Toral  saying  that  his  government 
had  "authorized  him  to  capitulate."  This  one 
phrase  was  intelligible  both  in  its  original  Span 
ish  and  in  the  unique  translation  which  lies  in 


The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

the  archives  of  the  War  Department,  but  the  rest 
of  it  was  a  mystery.  The  document  roads  as 
follows : 

"  SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA,  July  16. 
"To   His   Excellency,  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  American  Forces. 

"Excellent  Sir:  lam  now  authorized  by  my 
government  to  capitulate. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  so  apprise  you,  and  re 
questing  you  that  you  designate  hour  and  place 
where  my  representatives  shall  appear  to  compare 
with  those  of  Your  Excellency  to  effect  the  arti 
cles  of  capitulation  on  the  basis  of  what  has  been 
agreed  upon  to  this  date  in  due  time. 

"I  wish  to  manifest  my  desire  to  know  the 
resolutions  of  the  United  States  Government 
respecting  the  return  of  army,  so  as  to  note  on 
the  capitulation,  also  the  great  courtesy  of  Your 
Great  Graces  and  return  for  their  great  gener 
osity  and  impulse  for  the  Spanish  soldiers,  and 
allow  them  to  return  to  the  Peninsula  with  the 
honors  the  American  army  do  them,  the  honor  to 
acknowledge  as  dutifully  descended. 

"JosE  TORAL, 
"General  Commanding  Fourth  Army  Corps. 

"(Signed)  "GENERAL  SH AFTER, 
"Commanding  American  Forces." 

Whether  it  was  during  the  many  conferences 
in  which  interpreters  of  varying  degrees  of  inac 
curacy  were  employed  as  the  medium  of  inform- 


242  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

ing  one  side  what  the  other  side  said;  whether 
neither  side  quite  understood  the  literal  import 
of  the  various  dispatches  of  demand  and  evasion ; 
which  of  these  conditions  lies  as  the  cause  of  the 
result,  this  amazing  fact  remains  that  when  Toral 
surrendered,  our  leaders  found  that  he  had  not 
only  consented  to  a  capitulation  of  the  city  of 
Santiago  and  its  army,  but  that  he  intended  to 
give  up  what  was  practically  the  whole  of  East 
ern  Cuba  and  its  armies.  Miles  has  stated  that 
he  was  surprised.  And  so  was  indeed  every 
member  of  the  commission,  but  each  man  kept 
silence  with  the  imperturbability  of  a  practiced 
poker-player  whose  bluff  had  not  been  called. 
The  terms  of  Toral's  capitulation,  in  brief  were 
these : 

"Surrender  of  all  Spanish  forces  in  that  part 
of  Santiago  Province  which  lies  east  of  a  straight 
line  drawn  from  Aceradores,  on  the  south  coast, 
to  Dos  Palmas,  in  the  interior,  and  thence  to 
Sagua  de  Tanamo,  on  the  north  coast;  estimated 
at  nearly  twenty-five  thousand  men,  of  which 
number  twelve  thousand  had  not  been  engaged. 

"Surrender  of  all  war  material  then  in  the  de 
scribed  district.  All  artillery  and  batteries  at 
the  harbor  entrance  and  gunboat  in  harbor  to  be 
left  intact. 

"Officers  to  retain  their  side  arms  and  personal 
property. 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  243 

"Privates  to  give  up  their  arms  of  all  kinds 
and  retain  their  personal  property  only. 

"Toral  authorized  to  take  away  the  military 
archives  belonging  to  the  described  district. 

"The  United  States  to  transport  all  the  sur 
rendered  troops  back  to  Spain  as  soon  as  possible, 
embarking  them  near  the  garrisons  they  then 
occupied. 

"The  volunteer  and  guerrilla  forces  allowed 
to  remain  in  Cuba,  if  they  wish,  under  parole, 
during  the  present  war. 

"Toral's  army  to  march  out  of  Santiago  with 
honors  of  war,  depositing  their  arms  at  a  point 
mutually  agreed  upon,  to  await  disposition  of 
United  States  Government,  our  commissioners 
recommending  that  they  be  returned  to  the 
soldiers. 

"The  existing  municipal  authorities  to  con 
tinue  in  control  of  the  garrison  cities  until  the 
Spanish  troops  were  embarked. 

"Mines  and  torpedoes  at  mouth  of  Santiago 
Harbor  to  be  removed  by  Spanish. 

"No  Cubans  to  be  allowed  to  enter  Santiago 
until  after  evacuation. 

"Refugees  from  Santiago  to  be  allowed  to 
return  to  their  homes. 

"Miss  Clara  Barton  and  Eed  Cross  agents  to 
be  allowed  to  enter  the  city." 

The  time  of  surrender  was  fixed  at  9  o'clock 
of  the  morning  of  July  17.  At  that  hour  Gen 
erals  Shafter,  Lawton,  Wheeler,  Kent  and  Hines, 
accompanied  by  their  staffs  and  escorted  by 


244:  The  Fall  of  Santiago? 

cavalry  and  infantry  detachments  went  at  an  easy 
pace  down  the  winding  road  from  San  Juan  hill 
to  the  famous  cieba  tree,  and  sent  an  aid  to  the 
Spanish  lines  to  notify  General  Toral  that  Shafter 
was  ready  to  receive  the  surrender  of  Santiago. 
Toral,  white-haired  and  sad-faced,  almost  in 
stantly  appeared  with  his  staff  and  about  a  hun 
dred  picked  men  and  came  loping  up  the  road. 
As  the  two  commanders  neared,  the  trumpeters 
on  both  sides  saluted  with  flourishes,  while  from 
a  Spanish  battery  a  salute  was  fired  and  from  our 
troops  lined  up  along  the  trenches  there  went  a 
stalwart  American  cheer.  Toral  unbuckled  his 
sword  and  saluting,  handed  it  to  Shafter  saying : 

"Hago  entrega  al  General  Shafter,  del  ejercito 
Americano,  la  ciudad  y  fortalejas  de  la  ciudad 
de  Santiago." 

("I  make  over  to  General  Shafter,  Commander 
of  the  American  Army,  the  citadel  and  fortifica 
tions  of  the  City  of  Santiago.") 

To  this  Shafter  replied:  "I  receive  the  city  in 
the  name  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States." 


With  this  acceptance,  however,  Toral's  sword 
was  handed  back  to  him  and  then  with  a  clatter 
of  hoofs  and  a  rattle  of  American  scabbards 


The  Fall  of  Santiago.  245 

Sbafter  and  Toral  rode  side  by  side  into  the  city 
at  the  head  of  their  dual  escort.  At  its  entrance 
the  civil  authorities  and  church  dignitaries  in 
their  glistening  vestments  came  forward  to  meet 
conquered  and  conquerors.  Along  the  ill-paved 
streets,  and  past  the  yellow-walled  houses,  the 
procession  passed  until  the  Plaza  de  la  Reina 
was  reached.  On  one  side  rose  the  Mauresque 
Palace,  on  the  other  the  great  cathedral,  and  on 
the  other  two  the  broad-verandaed  clubhouse 
of  San  Carlos  and  the  Cafe  de  la  Venus.  Stretch 
ing  from  side  to  side  of  the  Plaza  was  a  long  blue 
line  of  the  Ninth  Infantry  and  a  picked  troop  of 
the  Second  Cavalry.  Well  to  the  front  was  the 
Sixth  Cavalry  Band;  massed  on  the  flagging  be 
fore  the  palace  were  Shafter  and  his  retinue. 

As  the  cathedral  clock  struck  twelve  every  eye 
was  turned  to  the  red-tiled  roof  of  the  palace, 
from  the  flagpole  of  which  streamed  out  the  yel 
low  and  crimson  flag  of  Spain,  but  before  the  last 
stroke  of  noon  that  standard  came  fluttering 
down,  never  to  be  again  raised,  and  in  its  place 
ran  up  the  brilliant  folds  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
As  the  full  standard  broke  out  in  the  breeze  the 
troops  came  to  order  arms;  the  cavalry  band 
broke  into  the  "Star  Spangled  Banner;"  there 
was  a  faint  cheer  from  the  wondering  people  who 
pressed  against  the  Plaza  rails  and  crowded  to 


246  The  Fall  of  Santiago. 

the  barred  windows  of  the  houses;  while  from 
the  American  lines  drifted  in  the  distant  boom  of 
Capron's  saluting  batteries  and  the  muffled  roar 
of  our  cheering  troops. 
Santiago  had  fallen. 


THE   END. 


w  E 

OVttDUC  "LOO    ON    THE°N™*rH 


YG  51421 


414601 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


